Truthspeaker
by fUnKyToEs
Summary: A story of a girl who has the power of the future, and must overcome her weaknessess to become strong, for in the world of the 'survival of the fittest', all is counting on her.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Truthspeaker

Author: fUnKyToEs

Chapter: _In the beginning, there was an orange blob_ or _Chapter one (unnamed)_

Words: 7,137 words

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that you recognize or is part of the show or manga.

I picked up the stone and flipped onto the lake. It didn't skip but clonked down in the water with a depressing plop. I sighed and sat down on the sand, removing my socks and shoes and placing them next to me. I wiggled my toes in the sand and looked up at the rolling waves. They were a dark gray, almost a bluish purple, but so dark it was hard to say. My breaths began to rhyme with the waves… in… out… in… out…. And I drifted into a restless sleep.

"Hey, I think she's awake!"

I jerked into conscience with a sudden and sickening wrench. I blinked up at two bright blue eyes that hovered over me. They blinked back and then backed away to reveal a bright and horrendously terrible bright light that I assumed was the sun. I couldn't see anything anymore, but I heard familiar voices. They were talking together quietly and I couldn't hear what they were saying, just a few words here and there.

"Who is she?"

"—I don't know, I bet we should tell sensei—"

"—I wonder—"

"—shut up Naruto! That's disgusting! Sasuke, tell Naruto that we have to bring her to Kakashi-sensei!"

"Hn."

Those names… they were extremely familiar. I feel like I have heard them before. Things were starting to come back to me, but I ignored them and closed my eyes, trying to continue to breathe with the waves, recalling the claming sensation of it.

I couldn't hear the waves anymore. I couldn't feel the sand under me. I couldn't feel the vibration of the waves beating the shore. I wasn't on the beach. I sat up abruptly with a sharp cry as I looked around me, desperately and frantically. I was in a wood, not the beach. I was in a place that I didn't recognize a place that was not on the small island that I live on. I was somewhere else.

But that's impossible, unless I was kidnapped or something—I looked at the three people a little ways away from me. They hadn't seemed to notice that I was sitting up. I blinked, weren't there three before? There were only two. Maybe one went to go tell the sensei that I was here like the girl wanted them to. The girl, who was still here, I realized, had pink hair. Pink. _Pink_. Anyway, she wore a red outfit and was perhaps a foot or less short than me. The boy next to her was a fraction shorter than her, but was sturdier of build. He had messy bright blond hair, I mean, like, _yellow_ blond. He was also wearing a Florissant orange one-piece that was very, very blinding.

Wait a second…

I nearly fell over from the weight of the thoughts coming back to me. I didn't think it was possible, for me to arrive in the Naruto world. But those people couldn't be characters from Naruto! They looked like normal people, not anime or manga characters! And yet, they look uncannily like what Sakura and Naruto would look like if they were real life people… I was staring at them with a sort of obsessive fascination because I was comparing them to their anime cartoon selves. They had more bruises and cuts than in the anime, just naturally, not like wounds. Their cloths were rumpled, and their skin was scratched and they looked as if they might have been spending the past few days mainly outdoors.

The girl seemed to have sensed that I was staring at her because she turned around and peeked at me. She smiled and shot up from her sitting position and walked over to me. Naruto looked confused at the empty spot where she was sitting, and then followed her moving body to look at me. A grin flashed his face and he jumped, literally jumped, up from his seat and ran towards me.

Sakura bowed, "My name is Sakura—"

Naruto beat her to me. "Hi!" He nearly shouted in my ear, "My name is Naruto and I'm going to be the next Hokage!"

I stared at him with wide eyes, by brain reeling in pain from the sudden burst of loud noise. Sakura's turned a bright red and she punched Naruto upside down the head. He fell over, but he didn't go as far as he does in the manga or anime. He seemed to fall over realistically, like how someone would if they were actually forcefully punched on the head. I'm sure that will change when Sakura gains her superhuman straight from Tsunade, though.

"Naruto you idiot!" she shrieked, "She just woke up and the first thing you say is 'I'm going to be the next Hokage'? Nobody cares about you anyway!" she turned to me and I flinched in fear and horror at the speed of which she switched emotion. She put on a pretty smile and said, "Hi, I'm Sakura Haruno, and this jackass is Naruto Uzumaki. You don't need to know about him though," She said, kneeling beside me, "What's your name, and how did you get into this forest? I though only ninja had access to this particular training arena?"

I stared at her, "Training arena?" I asked, confused, "Ninja? Where?"

She stared at me, and Naruto blinked, and seized the opportunity, "I'm a ninja, and one of the best there are, and one day I'll become the greatest of all, the Lord Hokage—" he grunted as Sakura landed him a strong kick in the abdomen. He fell over, hugging his stomach in pain and mumbled something about annoying girls.

"I apologize again for my team mate," she said, "We are both Genin, the first rank of a shinobi, and we're in training to become full fledge ninjas. I see you must not be from around here, or must be from far, far away to not recognize this," She pointed at her head protect, tilting her head down to show it as it was on her head like a head band.

"And mine's here!" Naruto said, pointing proudly to his, which was one his forehead. He somehow survived, and in quick time, the painful experience that Sakura caused him to endure. I prayed she would continue to do so to him, because he would be immobile before long.

Who were these people? I thought. Sure, they say that they're ninja, called Sakura and Naruto, and they are uncannily similar to the ones from the show, but what if this is some trick? What if this is something that my friends or some creeps designed to give me a hard time? I must be on my guard; I can't let my hopes up. "Show me," I said, "Prove that you a ninjas."

Naruto grinned, and seemed all to happy to oblige, but Sakura held up a hand, "No Naruto, I'll do it, I don't want you making an idiot of the name of shinobis." She stood up, ignoring Naruto's pouting face, and made hand signs so fast that I couldn't see them properly. That part she got down pat, making hand signs. I had never seen someone do them so well.

I nearly yelled as two more Sakuras appeared next to her. They all crouched and then began running towards three trees. I stared, open mouthed, as they walked up the tree trunks as easily as walking on the ground. Once they reached the top, two of them poofed out and the one left jumped down from the tree and landed next to me and Naruto.

"And you say I'm a show off." Naruto muttered.

"Wow." I said, and my face heated up in excitement, "You really are a ninja… and that means that I'm really in—" the possibilities were endless. "Hey," I said, "Before, you said we were in a training arena place, so are we in the Leaf Village, judging by your head protectors?"

"Yes…" Sakura said, suddenly wary, "How did you know that?"

"Oh, well, I seemed to have forgotten, due to my fall, or at least, I think I fell, but now I remember more. I don't remember how I got here; I just recognize that head protector. Did Sasuke go get Kakashi?"

They looked at me surprised. "How do you know Sasuke and sensei's names?" Sakura asked, gaping at me.

"Ah—" Shit! I have to be more careful! "You two were talking with Sasuke before right?" I said, breathing in relief as they nodded, "And I remember Sakura saying his name, and I remember Sakura saying how she wanted to get your sensei…"

"Oh," Sakura said, "That's right." She looked behind her where she and Naruto were before I caught their attention, "I wonder why they're not back yet… Kakashi-sensei wasn't that far away… I don't think. I hope Sasuke's alright… of course he is!" She laughed, "He's Sasuke after all!"

"I hope he gets eaten by a giant cat!" Naruto grumbles, just as Sasuke and Kakashi landed on the ground right behind Sakura and Naruto. I laughed at the face Sasuke made at Naruto because Naruto's words, but then stopped short as my breath was taken away. He looked like an actual person, just like Sakura and Naruto do, but he was so much more handsome and hot than I could have ever imagined. I finally understood why Sakura and Ino were so obsessed with him, and why every girl on the show admitted that he was hot.

NO NO NO! I shrieked in my head, shaking it, don't think that way! You hate the emo kid, remember?!

"Why are you shaking your head like that?" Naruto asked. I stopped and blushed slightly, not realizing that I was actually shaking my head in real life.

"Sot this is the girl that you found?"

It sounded like the Kakashi from the show, and even looked like him (excluding the face, of course, since he is wearing a mask), and he still had the whitish gray hair, but it was as outrageously styled as it was, but still in the wavish manor like it was in the manga and anime. He was hot, most certainly.

"Yes," Sakura said, "This is—" She stopped and looked at me, embarrassed, "I'm so sorry, I don't know you name?"

"Oh," I said, "No, that's my fault. My name is…" I paused slightly, should I tell them my real name? "Grace," I said, deciding against using my real name. Well, it's my middle name, but not my first.

"Grace?" Kakashi asked, "My name is Kakashi Hatake, and this is my team, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke."

I tried not to look at the devastatingly gorgeous boy, not only because he is only twelve whereas I am fifteen but also because I have sworn, although I must admit I always liked him, to be annoyed with his 'holier-than-thou' and emo self. It is a cause I feel very passionate about. Someone needs to back Naruto up and hate him, too many people admire him and think he is gorgeous (he is) and all that shit but you know what? I won't give in. Besides, as I said before, he is like, what, twelve? And I'm what, fifteen? That's so wrong in so many different ways it's not even funny.

It's not.

"Ah," I said, as they stared at me, "Yes, nice to meet you… Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto and emo—I mean Sasuke." I said, stopping myself from saying what I was thinking. Mind you I normally don't let myself get out of control like that. I'm a very respectable and polite person. It's just annoying people like _him_ that annoy me so badly I let my true, sarcastic, mean, and sadistically cruel self out.

Naruto laughed at my minor mistake, while Sasuke had a exasperated look on his face while he gave me a exasperated half-glare, half-glare meaning glaring but not putting his full effort into it. So that's how it is? I'm not good enough to get his full on 'you're worthless compared to me glare'? The son of a biscuit…

"So, Grace, where are you from?"

"I have no idea." I lied. Best lie then bring up topics that will cause these four to be emotionally scared. Not in a bad way, just cause them to consider things about their world and the worlds around them, like traveling between for a hinting example that will cause them to go insane with all the possibilities that I proved valid.

"You don't remember?" Kakashi asked, squatting down to look me in the eye. I leaned back, taking in his… one eye. "You have no memory?"

I had two choices. I could lie, and say that I have no memory, or I could tell the truth, which is that I do I just don't want to talk about it. Choice number one's pros and cons, they wouldn't bother me about it, but… they would have to do a lot of test and things to make sure I didn't have some kind of illness or injury to make sure there isn't a reason I don't have any memories. Choice number two, they would bother me, but they might not out of respect towards my personal prefaces and I wouldn't have to feign a mental illness.

"Grace?" Kakashi asked, "Are you alright?"

"Would you say only having one eye for most of the time is a handicap, or would you say that it helps you train harder and train your senses to be better?" I asked, forgetting everything I had most recently been thinking so hard and deeply on. I do that a lot.

He blinked his one eye at me. "What?" he asked surprised.

"Your head protector, it's coving your eye, the one with the sharingan, but does it handicap you to not be able to se out of it all the time?" I immediately kicked myself mentally and almost covered my mouth. I can't believe I let that slip!

His eyes turned hard. "How do you know about that?" he asked, harshly. I blinked at him, why did his manner change so quickly and abruptly? Suddenly, so quickly that I couldn't see what was happened, his hand flashed out and I felt a pain on the back of my neck, and all became darkness.

When I woke up, all I saw were white walls. Four white walls, a white ceiling, and a white floor. There were no windows, but a door with bars. And there was a white bed that I was lying on, and white sheets, and a white pillow…

Wait a second…

Am I in jail?

I sat up, abruptly and looked around me hurriedly. How could I be in jail? I recalled my most recent memory of pain in my neck, and it all dawned on me. Kakashi must have knocked me out and turned me in… but why would he do that? Was it because of something I said or did? Was it because I had mentioned his sharingan… That must be the reason. Be must have become suspicious of the fact I didn't want to discuss my homeland or village and knew things about him that a foreigner like me wouldn't know. He must have thought of me as a threat…

I can understand that. I would be suspicious of myself as well. A girl appears out of nowhere, doesn't talk about her origins, knows things about certain high-up ninja, and pretends to have lost her memory. It does sort of fit in with the spy/infiltrator criteria doesn't it?

I got out of bed and walked to the door. I grabbed the bars and stood there, staring out into the bland hallway beyond… freedom…

"Hey you, you're Grace, right?" my head snapped to the left where a very, very tall burly man walked up to me, with two, smaller, ninjas to his left and right. I realized, with a shock, that this was Ibiki, and I recognized the two ninjas as proctors at the Chunin exams. Did Kakashi think I was that much of a threat that he would send Ibiki and his cronies? Oh God I hope they don't hurt me…

"Yes," I said, "And you are you?"

"That is no concern of you." He said as one of his men unlocked my door and handcuffed me, "We'll need you to come with us."

"Why?" I asked, "Are you going to question me?"

"Don't ask questions. Keep your mouth shut for now." He said, and he turned away, his large black trench coat swishing as he did so. One of the ninjas took my hand cuffs and dragged me after him, while the other followed behind. I can't say dragged, as he didn't use force, I followed obediently, but dragged is a more devastatingly cruel adjective that fit the moment.

We walked for sometime, but unfortunately, only within the dark, narrow hallways of someplace that was underground, and I can only assume that it was a secret hideout of the ANBU or something, because it seemed that way. Okay, it was probably only ANBU head quarters or something, but hey, it would make for a cool hideout. They walked me into a very dark, large room. I was disappointed, because I have seen this sort of setting in so many movies… and it was the same! And I thought real life was different than the Hollywood shows…

There was a light shining down with a luminous glow on a table. I was sat (yes, made to sit) on one chair and my hands were uncomfortably chained to the back of the chair, while Ibiki sat down in the chair opposite me. The two ninjas stood behind me, as if I could do anything with my hands behind my back and chained to the chair!

"So, is your name really Grace?"

"It's my middle name." I said, quietly. Something about this man scared me; I suppose that's why he's so good at his job.

"What is your first and last name?"

"I… I can't say." I said. "I'm not a spy or whatever, I don't belong here, I was on the beach in my hometown—village place and I fell asleep, and when I woke up Kakashi's team had found I and then Kakashi knocked me out and I woke up here. I swear, I don't even know how I got into your world."

"Are you suggesting that you came from a different world?"

Shit. "Yes and no. I think it's the same world… just different. I can't explain. It's different, and yet it feels the same… I don't know." I said.

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen. I'll be sixteen in May… when is that?"

"It is in a month." He said.

"It's January where I come from…" I mumbled. "I'm not ready to be sixteen… I don't even have my permit."

"So your birthday is in May?" He asked, ignoring me, writing down something on the paper on the desk. I just realized that he was writing down things in his book.

"Yes." I said. "I have a question. Who is the Hokage of this village?"

"Lord Hokage, Lord Sarutobi, the third Hokage."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I don't know why I was relieved. I don't know why I was relieved. I then suddenly realized that I had a power now. I knew what was going to happen, and therefore I could change it. I had two mixing emotions now, both fighting for dominance. One was that I could change things so that they went a different way, I could somehow (don't know how I could ever) stop Orochomaru so that he does not curse Sasuke, and somehow keep Sasuke from leaving, and keep the third Hokage from dying… and make Gaara not so homicidal… and all sorts of things that happened and caused grief. And yet, all those things mattered, all of those things caused good things to happen as well. What if all those things that I like that happened don't because I intervened? I decided I would not intervene. I mean, I would try to be nice to people, like Gaara, and try to slightly, ever so slightly, influence Sasuke not to be such a jerk and to not go with Orochomaru, but I won't change anything. I won't cause things to be different. I'll let things be.

What happened will happen, and I can't change it. I won't let myself change it. "Where is Kakashi's team right now?" I asked.

"I'm asking the questions." He said, staring at me coldly.

I gulped. Well, I just wanted to know, I thought, grumbling mentally to myself. I nodded, and he continued, "So, you sent you to spy on this village?" He asked.

"Didn't you hear me? I wasn't sent to spy on you, I wasn't even sent, and I just appeared here by chance…not even. I don't even know how I got here… can I talk with the Hokage instead? I'm sure he'd understand more than—"

"How stupid do you think we are?" He snapped, "Do you think we'd let a threat like you near our Hokage?"

"I'm not a threat," I snapped back, not thinking, "I don't even have chakra, I'm not a ninja, I'm hand cuffed, I don't know any hand signs, I don't know any jutsus (how to do them), and I have no clue how I would magically obtain all of those to attack a man who could probably kill me before I registered that he was standing before me." I said, and then took a deep breath, "Sorry, I'm just not in a good mood right now."

He smiled wryly, "So aren't the rest of us. Anyway, we can't let you out of prison until we verify that you are not a risk to this village. We don't know how long that will be. For the next few days we will be having sessions like this and then there will be a court session, and if _they_," he put on a nasty sour look, "Deem you innocent, then you are free to go."

"Who are _they_?" I asked, suddenly worried.

"Lord Hokage and the Elders of the village," he said the sour look returning. Something told me he wasn't fond of them… Wait a minute, aren't they, or at least two of them, the team mates of the Hokage when he was in training to be a ninja? Aren't they like, really scary? Like… even Tsunade backed down from the woman? Man, I am so screwed!

"Where is Kakashi's team?" I asked again.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because," I said, simply, "I want to know."

He smirked again, "They are on a mission, to the land of the waves."

"On the one with that guy building the bridge, right?" I asked, "Man, they have their work cut out for them, I think that mission is D ranked, right? It turns into an A rank because they bump into that missing-nin Zabuza and Kakashi has to beat him…" SHIT SHIT SHIT! I shrieked at myself. I am such a total idiot! I can't believe I just said that! And here I thought I was starting to convince Ibiki that I was innocent! How is he going to believe me now? The two ninjas (I almost forgot about them) shifted, and I could tell that they were more than surprised.

"How would you know their mission and what is this about Zabusa?" He asked sharply, his fist clenching and his brow furrowing. I am in really deep shit…. I whimpered slightly and murmured something under my breath.

"What was that?" He asked piercingly.

"I don't know… I just know things!" I blurted. "I mean, that was how I knew their names, Kakashi's team, I mean, and how Kakashi had the sharingan and that's how I knew that the Hokage was the third and that was how I knew about their mission and that your name is Ibiki and your head of investigation and you are in charge of the first exam for the Chunin exams for the time that Kakashi's team takes it and that's how I know that that is when—" I stopped myself. I didn't want to go too far. Just do the obvious things, not things they don't know about. I was about to mention how Orochomaru will attack, but realized that is a BIG NONONONONONONONONO to infinity.

He stared at me. Then he nodded to one of my guards (I'm dubbed them that), "Go and fetch the Hokage, he should know whether she is a spy or not. However, all this information you know… I need to know what else is happening. So you know things that most ninja don't know… can you see the future or something?"

"Not really." I said, "I mean, I know what's going to happen to people, especially Kakashi's team," I paused, thinking. You might be wondering why I am saying all of this, but the truth is that I decided its best not to lie. However, I hope that Ibiki and the Hokage will keep this to themselves. "It's more that I know what will happen because where I came from, it has already happened. I can't say anymore than that." I said, "You must understand, I know things that will change what should happen, if I say anything… I can't even think what will happen."

"Will it save this village? Save lives if you do?" he asked.

I looked down, "Yes, I know things that will save many lives."

"Then you must tell me." He said. "I cannot let you not tell me, because I am a ninja of this village, and I have a duty to protect it."

"Fate has already chosen the path," I said, mentally kicking myself for sounding like Neji. Damn, that always happens when I'm acting mellow dramatic! I hate it… "I can't say anything… please understand!"

This was getting exasperating! I couldn't go on any longer. I suddenly realized how important it was to keep this a secret, to not tell anyone. "Please don't tell anyone," I said, pleadingly, I looked over my shoulder to the one ninja that was still there, "Please…"

"What is the matter, Ibiki?"

I shivered when I heard the old, but kind, voice of the Third Hokage. I looked over my shoulder and was, to my surprised, so relieved to see the kind old face of the Third Hokage I nearly collapsed. Have you ever felt that way? So relieved that you feel like you can't stand it? Like it is too much to carry? Like all your burdens suddenly are lifted and you don't know what to do?

"This girl was found by Kakashi's team out in one of the training woods, Kakashi brought her in as a possible threat. She claims to know what's going to happen in the future, but refuses to say anything. She does know some confidential information; like that I'm the head proctor for the first exam at the Chunin exams… and that Kakashi's team will run into trouble in the Waves… we'll have to see about that when they return. If she's correct, than we might know she's telling the truth. Can you, by any chance, tell if she is? If she is, she could be very useful in the future."

The ninja that had gone to fetch the Hokage produced a chair out of the darkness and set it down next to me. The Hokage sat down in it. "What is your name?" he asked me, and I noticed that it was softer than Ibiki's when he had asked questions.

"Grace." I said.

"Where did you come from?" he asked.

"I have notes of the questions and answers she said here," Ibiki said, passing the paper to the Hokage.

"Thank you," The Hokage said, and scanned the paper. "So you say that you come from another world?" he asked, looking up.

"Yes." I said, "I sort of come from another world."

"Sort of?"

"I can't explain." I said. "It's really hard to explain."

"I understand." The Hokage said. "Now, you say that you know the future—"

"I know what will happen, but only if things stay the way they do, and they don't change because I say they will happen," I glanced at Ibiki, "It's like I know one path that will occur, and if I say what that path is, people will try to change it, and then I won't know what will happen because we will be sent down a different path."

"I see, and that is why you are reluctant to tell what the future holds, am I correct?" he asked.

"Yes." I said.

"Do you mind if I test you?" he asked.

"I don't…" I said, cautiously. "How will you test me?"

"I myself know somewhat what the future holds. Let me ask you this, who will be the one to kill me?" he asked.

Is this a trick question? I thought. I looked between him and Ibiki. I took a deep breath. Should I tell them the truth? I want them to believe me, I just don't want them to question me more… "Orochomaru," I said, finally, deciding to tell the truth and turning to the Hokage.

"She does not know the future," the Hokage said finally. Ibiki sighed in disappointment (not because Orochomaru kills the Hokage, but because now I can't be an asset for the village.

I was outraged. Yes, Orochomaru is the one to kill him! I looked into the Hokage's eyes and realized that he had lied. His eyes showed sadness, a understanding. I knew then, that he knew I was telling the truth. He must have seen it as well, and I confirming it must be a double blow, for his own favorite student to be confirmed as his future killer… I smiled slightly up at him as he stood up, more than thankful hat he had lied. I realized that if he had said that I was telling the truth, my life would be horrendously horrifying. He just saved me, by denying that I was telling the truth.

"And if her predictions of Kakashi's mission comes true?" Ibiki asked.

"I'm sure that she just had some sort of connection with Zabuza, right?" he turned to me.

I shook my head, "You do trust me about me coming from another world, right?" I asked. The Hokage nodded, and it was only after the Hokage nodded that Ibiki reluctantly nodded, "Well, when I came over, I slightly remember seeing a vision of Kakashi's team fighting Zabuza, and the name must have appeared in my head. I guess that's also how I knew their names and that Kakashi had the Sharingan, because he was fighting with it… maybe that all went to my head, and that's why I thought I knew the future…" I broke off… pretending to be in a daze, but inside I was applauding myself at my superb acting skills.

"That's sounds like it was the way it happened," The Hokage said. "Ibiki, I would like you to release this girl."

"But Lord Hokage!" Ibiki said, standing up quickly, "You can't just!"

"She's innocent." The Hokage said, simply, "She will come with me, we'll see about certifying her as a civilian of this village—if you wish," he said, nodding in my direction. The ninjas unlocked my hand cuffs and I rubbed my wrists. I nodded back at the Hokage. "Excellent," he said, and he held out his hand. I took it, and walked out of the room with him, clasping his hand tighter because of the warm gentleness that was radiating off of it. I glanced back at the two guards and Ibiki.

"Bye!" I said as the door closed, separating us.

The Hokage still held my hand, which I was more than thankful for. I don't know why I was so clingy, maybe it's the fact I'm in another world and was just put in jail and was just interrogated and am scared stiff because I am just a scaredy-cat. "Lord Hokage?" I asked. He looked down at me. "What is going to happen to me, now?"

"I'm not sure," He said, "But I'm sure that you can become a civilian if you wish. I'm afraid you can't become a shinobi," he said, and my eyes widened, because that was just what I was about to ask. "You must be born in the village, or at least be a very young child when you begin training. However," He said, smiling, "You still can train, you just won't be sent on missions and such. Well," He said thoughtfully, "Perhaps on missions… just as a tag-a-long, not as a ninja. You can train," He said, "You could even become the greatest of all, and one day, you might prove yourself good enough to become a ninja."

I smiled up at his, and then looked down onto the ground. I should have known that it wouldn't be easy. Besides, I'd have to train and learn everything, and that isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world.

"Lord Hokage," I said, "Do you believe me?"

"Yes." He said, a sad look returning to his face, "Yes, I do. But I think it would be better for you if people didn't know that you were right. However," he said, looking stern, "I don't want you to refrain from giving, at least to me, information that could save this village."

I thought about it… for a spit second. It's amazing how much you can think before a minutes over. I mean, readers, it probably takes you less than five seconds to read this and yet it is so much that was written! "Of course," I said, "If I believe that it will happen soon enough, and then I will tell you." I said. When I am at the Chunin exams, I will tell the Hokage that Orochomaru is actually dressed as the Kazekage. That way perhaps the Hokage won't die… Suddenly, I realized why the people of the village were so heartbroken when he died, he is so kind and he barely knows me and I already feel like he would do anything to make me safe. He truly is a Hokage.

I picked up the paper and stared at it. They didn't seriously expect me to fill this out? I can't even understand what is said! It's more confusing than doctor fill out paper things, and all I have to do there is sign my name…

"Ah, Lord Hokage?" I asked, looking up, but the old man had gone. Sheesh, I thought, looking around the busy room, what am I supposed to do know? There were many ninjas in this room, and there was a desk with three ninjas at it. I assumed that this is the ninja head quarters place of a thingy a bobber. Ok, ignore that string of useless words. I wonder if there's anyone who can help me… I smiled when I recognized someone. Of course! Iruka would help me, right?

I got up and tiptoed around the gabbling ninjas to the desk. "Um, excuse me?" I said, in a small voice. Iruka looked up, surprised. "Yes?" He said, "I'm afraid that we can't accept anymore missions for today, it's already five o'clock and most of the ninjas are done for the day."

"Ah, no," I said, "No, I'm not here for that… I need help with this," I said, putting down the paper on the desk. "I don't understand what I'm supposed to do with it and the Hokage disappeared on me…"

"HEY YOU!"

I spun around, wincing at the words. I shrieked as a bright orange flash collided into me. We both rammed into the back wall, creating a dent from the force the orange blob attacked me with.

"NARUTO!" Iruka screamed, getting up. Three more people came and pried the aggressive orange punching machine off of me. My breathing was starting to return to me. "Someone get her!" Naruto yelled, "She's a spy!"

"Naruto what are you talking about?" Iruka asked him once Kakashi and he had secured Naruto. They tied me up. Sakura helped me up, apologizing over and over for her team mate's behavior.

"We found her in the woods and Kakashi brought her in because she was a spy!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Not true." Kakashi said, "I thought she might be a spy so I turned her in. Obviously if she is in here, not locked up, she is innocent."

"Ah," Naruto said, looking thoughtful, "But I thought—"

"She is innocent."

All of our heads whipped to the entrance where the Hokage entered. I breathed in relief, not only can he explain to the orange killing machine that I'm innocent but afterwards he can help me with my paper! "She was in an interrogation with Ibiki Morino. I was asked to go, and when I arrived I participated in the interrogation and deemed her innocent. She is," he looked at me, "Should be filling out a citizenship."

"Wait a second," one ninja in the room said, "When did she have her interrogation?"

"Half an hour ago," the Hokage said.

Was it really only half an hour? I thought, it seems like it was hours ago!

"Half an hour ago!" Kakashi exclaimed, "Did he go soft on her or something?"

"No," the Hokage said, "Not really, it turned into a discussion rather than an interrogation."

I smirked. Did they think I was some tough guy who could still stand after an interrogation with Ibiki? Man, were they fooled! I would probably be dead by now if it weren't for the Hokage!

"Right," I said, walking over to the Hokage, "About the citizenship thing…" I stood on my tiptoes, whispering in his ear, "Can you help me with it?"

He smiled, "Of course I can." He said. He took me by my arm and led me away. I smiled at Sakura as I left, but didn't look at Sasuke, Naruto or Kakashi. I didn't like them, I realized with a sudden jerk. Sasuke, that's easy to understand, he is a jerk. Naruto, well, he attacked me so he'll have to make it up before I like him and Kakashi… Kakashi turned me in to the police. I can't forgive someone like that. I mean, I'm sure thousands of people have heard of his sharingan! What made me so threatening that he had to knock me out and turn me in to the satist (Ibiki)?

We reached his office and the Hokage sat down behind a very large desk. "Now he said, where the paper?"

"Ah, shit," I said, cursing under my breath, "I left it back there, I'll be right back," I promised as I whipped out the door and sprinted down the hallway. Ok, I think it's this way, I thought, taking a right. Nope, this goes outside. Ok, so it's this way. I turned around and went straight. Yup, I reached that large room and ran up to Iruka's desk, "Hello, Iruka, is my paper here?" He looked up surprised.

"Oh, hello again, yes it's right here." He handed me the paper and I thanked him, and then turned around to go back when I hit something hard. I let out a small yell as I fell backward, but was caught before I could fall onto the ground. I looked up to thank whoever I bumped into and saved me, when I stopped short, my breath leaving me as I looked, horrified, at the person who had caught me.

Let's just say he was beautiful. Not handsome or hot, but beautiful. The way that Orlando Bloom is beautiful. If he had been a girl, he would be the most beautiful woman in the world. But he's a guy so we don't have to talk about it.

Have you guessed who it is?

That's right, the one and only Neji Hyuuga.

"Are you alright?" He asked, and I was once again, more surprised, actually, than the first time I watched the Naruto series, of how manly his voice is. You keep expecting a high loftily womanly voice to come out.

"Ah, yes," I said, unsure of what to do. He still hadn't let go. "Um, thanks." I said, stepping away from him. He finally let go and then walked up to the desk. If this were an anime, I would have sweat dropped. That was the weirdest thing I have ever experienced! He caught me, didn't let me go, asked me if I were ok, then let go of me quickly as if he didn't care and then moved on, ignoring me. Is this how he usually acts? No wonder no one likes him! I thought, turning on my heel as I went back to returning to Hokage's office. And I don't like him either, I decided with a defiant nod.

I punched the air, Rock Lee you better kick his ass!

"Do you have the paper?" The Hokage asked when the door clicked behind me. I nodded and sat down in a chair opposite him. "Can I see it?" he asked with a smile on his face. I flushed slightly and passed it to him. He took it and then began to ask me questions and when I answered he would write things and fill things out of the paper. Finally, he gave the paper back and gave me the pen, "Here, sign."

I took the paper and the pen and began writing: Le—I quickly scribbled it out and rewrote: Grace. "Is it ok if I don't put down my last name?" I asked. He looked thoughtfully. "I mean," I continued, "I'm sure there are lots of people who don't really have last names." I was more than hopeful.

"I'm afraid you must put a last name." he said.

I sighed and began to write down my last name. "But," he said, and I paused, "No one knows your real last name, so why don't you put down a fake one?"

"Is that legal?"

"It's not if everyone thinks it is, and the only person that will know it is not your real last name is myself and people from your home land, and I'm sure," he looked at me, "That they most likely will not be coming anytime soon." I nodded. "What about Witherspoon?" I said, picking a random name off the top of my head.

"That sounds like a good name." he said.

Grace Witherspoon.

That is my new name, for a new world, for a new life.

Thank you for reading!!! Please review if you want to make any comments. I'm sorry this one is so short and so boring… I just had to introduce everything. If it is confusing, please review and tell me so I can change anything or make a note for myself so I can change it. If you think I am violating the true story or characters, please tell me. I want to make this story as realistic as I can. PLEASE REVIEW!!! I would love it if you could!

- fUnKyToEs


	2. Chapter 2

Hello my readers! This is the second chapter of Truthspeaker, so I hope you enjoy! Again, I do not own Naruto or its characters; this is just something to amuse me and to pass the time… Also, if you notice that my story is violating the actual story or characters, please, please tell me, because I want to make this, as I've said before, as realistic as possible. Also, I'm going to try to make it as un Mary—sueish as possible, so the main character will most likely not be the best at everything, as well as she won't meet most of the characters. So far she's only met Iruka, Ibiki and his cronies, the Hokage, Team 7, and Neji. She might meet one more character in this chapter, but you'll have to read to find out. She won't be meeting really any of the actual characters till later, because I'm trying to write a story that independent rather than having to depend on the actual characters for backbone. However, she might see at a distance some characters, or talk to one for a bit, but for most part, she won't be seeing them for a while. Just for your warning, this chapter I've put in some humor, so if it seems a little… abstract in the writing, you know, like unrealistic (how I hate writing that word), its just because I was in a weird mood when I wrote it and had to put in some 'Grace Witherspoon making a complete idiot of herself' in there. Which she does with all expense at herself.

**Valinor's Twilight: **Hi! Thanks for the review. I hoped you liked the story. I'm glad things are looking ok… I just hope I won't go like, you know, unrealistic and make everything very Mary sue… that is my worst nightmare… anyway, please review again, it makes me so happy!

**ForgiveButNeverForget:** Um, about the Dumbledore stuff… I don't really understand the whole future thing… but I really, really, really like the seventh book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, I'm glad you liked my story!

I examined the paper in front of me. I was now officially a citizen of the Hidden Leaf village. My heart was still racing, and I'm not sure why, but I think it was just this whole thing added together. All of a sudden I am in the world of Naruto, except that it isn't called that here… ok, all of a sudden I'm in the Land of Fire and I just became a citizen of the Hidden Leaf village… I pinched myself.

It was sunset, and the village seemed pretty silent, which I surprised me because just a few hours ago it was busy, hectic and as loud as hell. Well, that's just an exaggeration. Anyway, everything seemed pretty peaceful. All the buildings had an orange glaze over them, and it was so beautiful I felt like I had to paint it. The thought that I had no painting supplies with me didn't cross my mind at this point. The shadows seemed to dance before me, and I felt like I was in another world… Ignore that last part; it was just me having another dumb blonde moment. I looked down at the paper. The Hokage had told me that my apartment was this way, I thought, looking up, "Why haven't I found it yet?" I asked no one in particular. Well, I couldn't have, since there was no one around me to ask. I have just come from the Hokage's office, where he helped me sign to become a citizen, and many things happened there. One thing is that I am now utterly wounded. If it weren't for a stupid hyperactive—

I stopped as I heard something behind me. What was that? I looked up. Nothing. I looked behind me. Nothing. I didn't look up (literally, now) or down, but just for the story's sake I didn't need to. Hmm, well, that's strange. I kept walking. As I was saying if it weren't for the receiver of the world's greatest idiot award than I wouldn't have to have this bandage attached to my forehead… I can't believe he attacked me… moment of self pity. Ok, done. Plus, I thought, I've decided that I hate someone. No, not Naruto, I don't mind him, although now I realize why he annoys people so much. No, I hate Neji Hyuuga. Why? He is a conceited, egotistical moron. Don't mention that I haven't known him for more than ten seconds, because now is just not the time. Regardless, I've seen plenty of episodes and chapters to know that he is just as I described, in fact, worse, because now I have experienced it for myself. Besides, I thought, clenching my fist, how the hell does he get his hair so perfect? My hair is four times shorter than his and its always… anyway. I thought, defiantly, he has identity issues. I mean, a guy doesn't have that long or perfect kind of hair! Maybe he's a girl…

I shook my head, no, no, NO Le—Grace I mean. Man, that's hard. It's always easy to refer to yourself as another name when your talking or if other people are talking to you, but when your thinking in your head, its hard to refer to yourself as someone else… I'll try my best. Ah…… I'm so pissed right now at a certain ballerina…

I paused again from my rant when I heard rustling again. This time I was worried because now it's obvious it's not just a bird in the brush or something, it's somebody following me. I looked, anxious, behind me. "Who's there?" I asked. No one answered. A shadow flittered behind me, and my head snapped to where it was. "Who ever are out there, please just come out!" I called out, trying to sound brave. It didn't really work, because my voice seemed to crack from speaking so loudly and my voice by the end was just a hoarse whisper. So much for sounding brave. This time I truly heard something in the brush to my right. Pattering noises. What was it? I took a step away from the hedge… a shrieked as something popped out from under the brush. I fell over in surprise.

It barked at me and then bounded over, hopping on my chest and licking my face. I took a deep breath. It was just a little mutt, probably a stray. I rubbed its head, examining the ruffled pup. He was black all over, except for his face and legs which were a dark brown with speckles of black. He has intelligent yellow eyes that stared at me with a daring gaze. I laughed, "Hey," I said, "What's your name?"

He yipped and bounded off of me, landing on the ground and then spinning around to face me. He wagged his tail and sat, staring at me with an intense face. His tail stopped wagging. His eyes dared me to reached out and pet him. I was too overcome by his cute little face, so when I reached out to pet his head, he bounded easily away from me, in a circle, and now lay down opposite of where he was originally. My hand hovered where his head used to me. Him… don't know how I knew already that he was male, I guess it was just how he acted… I smiled, "So, this is a game you want to play?" I grinned, "Well, get ready to loose!"

He barked at me again.

I was thoroughly exhausted by the time the mutt and I stopped playing tag. I tell you, that pup is damn fast. It hurts my pride to loose at tag from a dog, but hey, he has four legs and I have only two! It was an unfair game… I finally found my apartment, and put the key into the lock. I was about to turn it to open the door, when I stopped and looked behind me. The mutt was sitting, a forlorn look on his face, staring at me from the road. I bit my lip. "Ok, fine, just for tonight." I said. He yipped and ran up and through the door. I grinned and followed him in.

He was a very intelligent dog; I swear he understood everything I said. I bet he's some kind nin-dog or something, because he literally seemed to understand EVERYTHING I said. But besides that, I really enjoyed playing with him, he was so cute, and little too! I love dogs so much… I stepped out into the road, locking the door to my new apartment (I'll describe it later) and nearly tripped on the dog running through my legs. "I'm going to see the Hokage," I said to it, it sat there, wagging its tail, "Remember our deal? You stay one night and then disappear."

It looked innocently up at me. I sighed, exasperated. "Fine, you can tag along—for today only!" I started walking, and it padded beside me, loyally. I sighed. It was hard, trying to make a cute little puppy go away. Not only was it—not going away, but it was so adorable it took all my power to even think of it going away. The only reason I didn't just keep it was I wasn't sure if I was allowed to in my apartment and also, how will I take care of it? I don't even have a job yet!

The dog yipped. "Ok," I said, "Look dog, I can't just have you follow me around." The dog appeared not to hear me. "Fine," I said, ignoring it as well, "Don't listen."

There was silence between us. We kept walking until I realized we were lost. "Why didn't you tell me I was lost?" I demanded the dog. If it were a human it would have raised an eyebrow. I slapped myself, literally, "I can't just believe I said that to the _dog_…" I can't just keep calling him dog… if only Kiba was around, then I could find out his real name. It wouldn't be like I was naming him, because I know that's a big nono when you don't want to keep a pet. But if I called it its real name…

"I wonder where I can find Kiba…" I thought. I looked around, "The chances of me finding him out of the blue is… I suppose I'll have to just name you." I said, cringing. This was a mistake, I thought, but there was nothing to it, I couldn't just keep calling it _dog_, now could I? I mean, if there's a guy, you don't just call him _guy_ just because you don't want to date him! "I'll call you Bingly." I said. He yipped. "Stop yipping." I said, "Can't you do anything other than yipping?"

He barked, wagging his tail.

I muttered curses under my breath and continued walking, Bingly hurrying after me.

I waited in line for quite a long time. The ninja Head Quarters, or the Hokage Tower, or whatever it's called seemed to be very busy today. I recognized some people, and Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino passed me as they went to the ninja side of the waiting line. I didn't say anything because that's just awkward, if you know what I mean. I mean, what would you do if some stranger called out to you as if they had known you forever? Yeah, that's my point. I just tried to act normal and ignored anyone whom I recognized. The line was long… very, very long. I couldn't necessarily go straight to the Hokage's office, since that would have been rude and besides, what if he where busy, or had a meeting or something? By the time I reached the desk, I was exhausted and both Bingly and I were both leaning on the table in exhaustion and boredom. "Can I help you?" I looked up to see one of the ninja who had been one of my guards. My eyes widened and he looked at me with a strange expression. "Hey, you're that girl from the interrogation yesterday." I took a step back and stepped on someone's foot. They grunted and I apologized. I stepped forward again, hands behind my back.

"Ah, yes," I said, looking at his name tag. "Nice to see you again, Kotetsu!" I grinned, but inside I was screaming in fear, what if he hands me over to Ibiki again? Bingly growled, and I kicked him. He whimpered but didn't make any noise after that. "I was wondering if I could see the Hokage."

"Right now?'

"No, in fifty years, of course right now!" I snapped. "Ah, I mean, whenever is convenient." I laughed, rubbing the back of my head. He gave me an odd look, and then looked at some papers.

"I'm afraid the Hokage is busy right now," he said, apologetically, "You can wait in one of those seats over there, it might take a while." I nodded and Bingly and I sat in one of the many seats along the two walls. Kotetsu was right; it did take a long time. My head kept drooping and then snapping up like it always does when you are sleeping when you're not supposed to and then waking up all of a sudden.

"Oh, it's you again."

My head snapped up and stared blurrily into light pearl purple eyes. My gaze seemed to not be working right, but when my eyes went into focus I realized that the person sitting next to me was the one and only Neji Hyuga. My mind was already forming a thousands things to say to him but I forcefully made myself say, "Oh, hello again, how are you? What was your name again?" He didn't answer; only stare off into space, staring at the opposite wall. The line had died down and I realized that only a couple ninja were left in the room. "What are you doing here?" he finally said, not looking up at me, "This place is closed now to civilians."

I looked to the window behind the desks. "What?" I said, loudly, "That's impossible, I came here this morning!"

"You must have been tired." He said, simply, "Besides, why are you still here?"

"I'm waiting for the Hokage." I said, "I was _supposed_ to speak to him."

"Well, you're obviously not going to be able. Besides, the Hokage is too important to see someone like you."

I clenched my teeth, "Is that so?" I asked him, my voice barely containing my anger, "And how would you know that?"

"Because you are an obvious looser," he said matter of factly, "I saw how that genin knocked you out. That was pathetic."

"I just don't have the same kind of training as you do, Hyuga!" I said, exasperated and irritated, "Stop judging people like that, Neji!"

He stared at me, and then said finally, "How do you know my name?"

I covered my mouth with my hand. "Ah, I mean, I—did I say that?" I said, trying to remember. Ah, shit. "I didn't mean to—I mean—"

"You girl," Kotetsu called out to as he began packing up papers, "The Hokage can see you now."

I turned on my heel away from Neji and stomped in the direction of the Hokage's office. I hope, I thought, bitterly, that I never see that bastard again.

"You want to become a shinobi?" The Hokage asked, "I thought we already discussed that."

"I don't mean to become a _ninja_, I know that I can't become a ninja overnight, I just want some training, maybe a tutor or something." I said, hope in my eyes. I gave the Hokage my best puppy dog face. Bingly, who sat in my lap, gave his best puppy dog face as well. Again, he won.

The Hokage sighed, "I suppose I could get someone to tutor you. It could get handy if someone had ninja training but was not a certified ninja…" he trailed off, thinking, "However; it's difficult since most ninja are in fact on missions. It will have to be when they aren't on many missions."

"Why don't you make it a mission?" I asked, "Then they can get paid and it won't take time away from when they have free time?"

He looked thoughtfully at me, "I suppose you have a point." He said, "Very well, I will let you have tutoring lessons, and I will pay for them myself, and I will chose a ninja who has—I'll get a genin, I don't want anyone of higher rank giving tutoring lessons… we'll start tomorrow. He gave me a stern look, "But you better take it seriously, I don't want to be wasting my shinobi's time by giving them a mission like this." I grinned.

"Don't worry, Lord hokage," I said, "I won't waist their time. I got up to leave, "Oh," I said, turning to face him at the door, "And thank you."

Bingly licked my hand as I sighed. I was getting irritated. My new tutor was supposed to meet me half an hour ago in this training arena… and yet, he, or she, hasn't arrived. If only I could have gotten his or her name so I could curse them…

Bingly yipped for me to throw a stick, and I half heartedly threw one… only a few feet away. Bingly stared at it, tail stopped wagging, and then turned to give me an odd look. "Ok, ok," I said, muttering curses as my teacher under my breath, "I'll throw it for you." I bent down and threw it, and he barked happily as he bounded off.

"I see even throwing a stick you have problems with."

My head snapped around to see my least favorite person in the world. No, not emo child. Mr. Alien eyes. "Ah, Mr. Alien eyes!" I exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

Bingly came bounded back and dropped the stick at my feet for me to throw again. I bent down and picked it up. Neji stared at me, his eye twitching slightly. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and rubbing his temples. "You better be thankful that the Hokage asked me to do this, otherwise I would just refuse." My eyes widened in horror as I realized something very close to hell.

"No," I said, "No, _you're_ not my tutor?"

"Unfortunately, yes." He said. He put down box that he had brought. Lifting up the lid, he brought out five kunai. "First," he said, "I might as well teach you how to throw a kunai."

"Shouldn't you teach me the stuff about chakra and that stuff?" I asked, starting to walk towards him. "I mean, that is the basics of training…"

"You obviously don't need to be trained, then," he said.

I halted, "Are you—are you making fun of me?"

He gave me an exasperated look, "Yes, I making fun of you. You're an idiot, do you know that?" I growled, "Anyway," he continued, ignoring my seething face, "I'll teach you that next week, for now, kunai."

"Next week?" I asked, "Why not tomorrow?'

"_Some_ people have a life, unlike _some_ I know." He said, setting the kunai on the bench and picking up one. He tossed it to me. I shrieked and dodged out of the way. It clanged on the ground and eventually skidded to a stop. Bingly whimpered slightly and I swear he was laughing. My arms were wrapped around my head protectively. Neji stared at me, not for the first time with an odd look on his face. Finally, he turned to the heavens and muttered, "This is going to take a _long_ time…"

I grinned bashfully at him and cautiously circled the kunai. "It won't bite you." Neji stated. "No," I said, "But it can stab me."

"From its place on the ground?" He asked. "I highly doubt that."

I gave him a look, and he raised an eyebrow. The war was on.

"Just pick the damn kunai up!" He said after five minutes.

"Fine, fine," I said, and picked it up. I grasped it at the handle with both hands.

"You only need one hand." He said.

I let go with one hand. "Now," he said, "Try to hit that target." He pointed at a target about twenty feet away. My eyes widened.

"Are you serious?" I said, "I can't do that! I can barely hold this thing, don't you think I should watch you do it a couple of times?"

"Yes." He said, closing his eyes, "But I'll find more amusing seeing you mess up horribly."

I knew he would say that, I muttered to myself. That bastard… fine, lets show him how good I can be! I threw my arm back and then forward again, just like I've seen in the anime, except as my hand released the kunai, I realized that… the kunai was no longer in my hand. My head whipped around and I stared at the kunai skidding to a halt behind me. I closed my eyes and cringed.

"I have to say," Neji said, randomly, "I wasn't expecting you to mess up that way."

"Ok," I said, "How about plan B?"

"There isn't one."

"What do you mean? Plan A obviously didn't work!" I exclaimed.

"No," he said, "You messed plan A up so badly that you have to do a redo." He said, simply. I glared at him.

"_Maybe_," I said, slowly, "If you showed me how to throw a kunai, then _maybe_, I could throw a kunai!"

"Or," he said, sounding slightly aggravated, "_maybe_ the Hokage could have not asked me to be your babysitter and asked some other poor bastard to do this sickening job!"

I blinked. "Did you just admit that you're a poor bastard?'

"No." He nearly yelled. "I don't care if this is a mission," he said, quietly, "I'm not tutoring you."

"Ah!" I said, running to catch up with him, "Than—than who's going to tutor me?"

"Luckily, no one." He said. "How people lived with you is beyond me. Your fate seems to be that of an idiot who lost her brain."

"That's redundant." I said, "Anyway, people did too live with me! Plus," I added, "I don't remember watching you talk so much… why you are talking so much?"

"Do you have a problem with me talking?" he asked, bending down to pick up the box.

"As a matter of fact, miss fortune teller," I snapped, "I do, because every time you talk it makes me want to kick your ass!"

His back straighten, "Is that a threat?" he said, slowly, and turned around, "Or a challenge?"

If I were in my right state of mind, I would have realized the fatal mistake I was about to make. But, seeing the present situation, I wasn't in my right state of mind. I was in my 'Grace—hates—long—beautiful—hair—fortune teller—annoying—hot—guys!' Ignore all of that. "Two!" I said.

He gave me a look.

"Both of them!" I said.

"Well then," he said, "Who would you think would win if I went up against you?"

"Oh, shaddup!" I said, "You're only a genin anyway! You wannabe!"

"What did you call me?"

"Yeah, that!"

You see, when I get angry… I loose my mind. At this point I (Grace Witherspoon) was having an out of body experience and watching my body, namely the 'Grace—hates—long—beautiful—hair—fortune teller—annoying—hot—guys!' self blow up at some poor guy who was deciding whether or not I was speaking English. He blinked. "I'm just getting out of here." He said finally, "You are annoying. You'll never be a ninja."

He walked up, leaving me standing there, all alone in the middle of that forsaken training field. "Oh damn." I said, once he let my sight. "he's gone… I don't even know the way home."

It wasn't till that moment that I realized something very important… he didn't pick up the one kunai that I had touched. Ok, we won't refer to it as the 'kunai he didn't touch', because then it seems like he's not touching it because—anyway, he didn't pick up the kunai that I had dropped and must not have seen it! I circled around it again. "Should I pick it up?" I asked no one in particular.

No one in particular answered.

"Oh, what the heck!" I said, again to no one in particular. Ok, so I said it to Bingly. I froze. Wait, I thought, where is "Bingly!" I yelled, spinning around and looking for the small black dog. "Bingly where are you?"

I have only been the contract as my sidekick for two days now and I already feel responsible that he disappeared! What if he were kidnapped? I clasped my face in horror, what if Neji kidnapped him?

I frantically ran through the streets of Konoha, trying to figure out which way the Hyuga went. If only I had studied that map closer… Then again, why would it tell me which house Neji's was? I can't read Japanese! I skidded to a halt as I saw someone with the byukagen. "Hey, you!" I said, walking up to them, "Where is Neji?" he stared at me like I was crazy, and then walked off in the direction he was headed. That's weird, I thought, man, are all Hyugas this way? I continued running down the street I was going down, until I saw someone that I always thought was the cutest, in a little kid way, in the world.

"HINATA!" I shrieked.

The poor girl collapsed in shock. She lifted her head and stared at me (I seem to be doing that a lot to people) as I approached her. "Hinata," I said, completely disregarding the fact that I had called her a name that she hadn't given me yet. "Hinata, I need you to take me to Neji's house… he has something of mine!" Ok, so if Bingly were here he would be pissed that I called him mine—ok, since when am I referring to a dog as having human intelligence? AH!

"How—how do you know my name?" Hinata stuttered, now standing and staring at me.

"Ah," I said, realizing not for the first time that I messed up, "Well, you see," I said, my brain reeling, "Neji talked about you."

"N—Neji ta—talked about me?"

I pursed my lips. "Can you just help me find him?" I said, showing her the kunai in my hands, "I have to return this as well."

"You—You know," She said, taking it, "You really shouldn't ru—run with a ku—kunai in your hands… you—you could really hurt yourself!" I stared at the kunai in her hands, and my eyes narrowed in thought. She's right, I thought. Oh well, I didn't kill myself, right?

"Will you just take me to Neji?" I asked and my voice quieted now. I will try to be less hyperactive in the future. She nodded, an unsure expression on her face. "Very well," she said, "I'll take you to Neji." She led the way and we walked and walked and walked. I was very tired by the time we reached the Hyuga Compound. I'll tell you this, thought; it irritated me that I ran past this entrance at least three times as I searched for Neji. I wonder if he saw me… that would be funny. Well, not for me, but for anyone else.

"Wha—what is it that he took from you?" She asked. I knew that she would be surprised. I mean, Neji doesn't strike me as the kind of person that would take someone's dog. A thought crossed my mind that didn't cross it before. What if Neji didn't take Bingly? I halted at the entrance, but Hinata didn't notice and kept walking. What if I just wasted this whole day by running around condemning a poor man for stealing something that he didn't steal? And if I barge into his room and demand my dog, what will I do when I realize that he doesn't have it?

"Oh well," I said, shrugging and walked after Hinata, who waited for me at the entrance of a very, very large house. "Wow," I said as we entered, "is this your house Hinata?" she nodded, a blush crossing her face.

"Hinata, who is this?"

She froze her eyes wide and she bit her lip as it started quivering. I looked up to see a tall straight backed man staring at us with such a intense glare that I was brutally reminded of my interrogation with Ibiki. It was Hinata's father, and I found out why she was so terrified of him. He was almost glaring at us. My anger that I had previously been feeling faded away into fear. Such fear… this guy is terrifying!

"Ah—ah, this—this is—this is—"

"My name is Grace Witherspoon." I said, bowing like I saw people do in Naruto (the show, not the person), "I came here to see Neji Hyuga, he has something of mine that I wish to have returned to me."

His eyebrows furrowed. "What does he have that is yours?"

"My dog." I said simply. Hinata turned at stared at me. "He was tutoring me and I—well, he gave up and when he left, so was my new puppy."

Hiashi Hyuga gave a look that made me wilt. "Don't you think," he said, "that's a little rash of you?" he turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. I bit my lip. Perhaps I did overreact. I mean, I don't even know that Neji took Bingly. Why would he, anyway? I was just hurt and embarrassed. I jumped at any excuse to be angry at him. I sighed, turning around and walking out of the building.

"Thanks for bringing me here." I told Hinata. "I shouldn't have come." Hinata stood at the door way, blinking in confusion.

I don't know what is wrong with me; I've been acting so strangely lately. I don't even recognize myself anymore. Where did that cool headed intelligent person go? Did it disappear in exchange of this new world? This world is everything I wanted… and now that I'm here, I'm no longer myself to enjoy it. I've always liked Neji and Hinata… they're cool people, and yet, I have a feeling I've made at least one hate me. Naruto is a cool guy, I've always seen myself as being his friend, and he definitely hates me. Kakashi doesn't trust me, Sasuke—who know's? Sakura doesn't probably remember me… and anyone else I've met, I've just faded into non-existence… just another village idiot whose village is missing her. This is not how I've always imagined it. I've always imagined I'd appear in this world and save it from some kind of disaster.

I just didn't realize _I_ would be the disaster.

Thanks for reading!!!!!

Please review. As I said before… or maybe I didn't, this one chapter shall, if I'm obedient, will be the last chapter with Neji in it for a while. As with Hinata. As for Team 7, I don't even think that they appeared at all… This chapter is a little more… humorous to write than I feel comfortable with. If you like the 'Grace who can't keep her mouth shut and makes an idiot of herself' than I'll try to keep writing it that way (just without the corny stuff like I've been doing this one chapter). For the most part, I'd like to try to keep writing in a more serious way. I want this fanfic to be independent of the original characters and story line, so if you don't see a lot of characters for a while, don't be alarmed. They will appear. Grace will not be ULTRA super girl, in fact, she's more of the 'complete opposite of a super hero'.

Please review and give your opinion of the story thus far… I appreciate your opinions very, very highly.

- fUnKyToEs


	3. The day everything went wrong

Dear readers! Thank you for coming back! I apologize that it took me so long to get together to write this one, I didn't mean to make you wait… I also apologize for this chapter; it was purely for my amusement. It is both short and farcical. I hope you enjoy it (as best anyone can enjoy something so pathetically—the way it is)

**Title**: Truthspeaker

**Author**: fUnKyToEs

**Chapter**: _The day everything went wrong_, or _The day she tried to get a job and everything went wrong. _

**Words: **3,200 words.

**Disclaimer: **cries in a corner

**Luffly Emi:** I enjoy torturing Grace…. :)

**ForgiveButNeverForget:** Yes, I wish I had a kunai too…certain people I know don't… but who cares about them! Yes, Grace has a very loose tongue, and can't really think about what her actions will do in the future… as you will find out. Yes, Neji's mean, but we already knew that. Grace didn't, but she does now!

**Valinor's Twilight:** Thank you! I hope you're as satisfied with this one! I hope I don't end up making Grace perfect at everything. I want her to work for her talent, not just be given it. She's already been given a chance of a lifetime; she has to work for the rest. Unfortunately for her, that's going to take a _lot_ of work…

As I unlocked the door to my new apartment (yes, my own), my heart stopped. My lip quivered. My hair stood on end.

I have no food.

Just kidding, no that's not what the matter was (although it was a problem); the matter was that I still haven't found my love. Not really my love, that's just—I still haven't found Bingly yet and it annoys me. I just returned from my humiliating experience at the Hyuga Compound, and had forgotten about Bingly as I was worried about myself. I banged my head against the door; I'm such a bad owner! What if he's lost? What if he's being bullied by bigger dogs? What if he was adopted by another person? What if Neji did kidnap him? What if Neji killed him?!

What am I saying? I thought, standing up straight, Bingly used to be a street dog thing person whatever (ignore that), so he should be fine on his own, right? He'll come back when he needs to. That's right; I can't expect him to be by my side whenever I want! He's not an object, right?

Let's ignore the fact that I had not yet fully agreed to have him be mine. Nor has he fully agreed to be mine. Man, that sounds like a valentine… Maybe I should have called him Valentine… no… that's too feminine. Bingly is perfect for him.

He's still my puppy. Mine. My own. Mine. Possessive tense.

The door clicked behind me and I entered the small but comfortable stark apartment. It was empty besides the normal kitchen things (like a refrigerator, oven, such and such) and had a table and chairs. The living room had a couch and the bedroom had a bed, and the bathroom obviously had _those_ things in it, so it wasn't completely empty. It was just missing the things that gave it life…

Like Bingly. No, things like food, pictures, decorations… I had a long way to go. But what I really needed was food. I had none, you see. The Hokage did lend me some money, but I don't understand the currency here so I don't know how much it really is. I'm sure it had some value, since I'd need some to start off. I'm sure thee Hokage wouldn't lend me barely enough to survive on… Well, that settles it. Since my efforts to become a ninja failed (miserably), and although I haven't given up, right now the main point is finding a job, so One: I can keep this apartment. Two: I can eat. Three: I can by cloths. Five: I can pay for Bingly. Six: I can pay for other things I need. What is four you ask? Money for ninja tutoring. I know that the Hokage offered to pay for it but for now I'm not taking tutoring lesions so he won't have to pay for it. I don't want Neji to get paid for something that he isn't doing, and the little bit that he did do he sucked at it.

It was so unfair, that day. He was so out of line, and soooo out of place. I mean, what kind of person does what he does? You know? He's such a bitch! Excuse my language. Now I really understand why Lee what's to beat him so badly!

"I hope you do!" I said out loud. I was glad no one was around. I don't need anymore strange looks today.

I lay down on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I wonder what I'll do… I was always bad at job interviewing… maybe, I thought, maybe I can work at the Ramen stand… or a book shop…

I stood in front of the ramen stand, not going in, just staring at the Japanese title. If only I could read Japanese… Ichiraku… the only reason I know that, I thought in my defense, is because Naruto is such a ramen freak. So am I, but that's beside the fact. Naruto is a freak in general. And to top that he is an orange freak (the worst kind, because he's one). He also causes much pain when he wants to. Much pain.

I pushed back the curtain thing and sat down at one stool. The ramen stand was empty, which I was thankful for. Very thankful for. I don't think I'd have the guts to ask for a job if there were other people around.

The man and his daughter (don't remember their names) smiled as I entered. "Can I help you?" the woman said, her smile brightening. I smiled back. They seemed like nice enough people to me.

"Yes," I said, "I would like…" I paused, staring at the menu. This would be so much easier if I could read Japanese! "That." I said, randomly pointing to something. Embarrassing, I know, but I had to act like I could read the menu, I mean, who is going to want to hire someone who can't even read the menu?

"What?" the woman said, leaning over the counter to try to see what I was pointing at. "What did you want?" she said, looking at me. She sort of gave me a strange look, which caused me to sigh.

"Ah." I said, ok, forget ninja lesions, I need Japanese lessons! "I'll just get what Naruto Uzamaki gets a lot. Just please don't add the egg… whatever it is." They gave me a strange look. This seemed to be a surprise. To them, I mean.

"But that's the best part!" The girl exclaimed. This was not the time for me to mention that I despised the egg thing. It always made me gag… I don't even think it was the flavor, just the texture. I can't explain how I know what the egg part taste like, but I have experience with Asian cooking.

"I'm sure," I said, "But I prefer it without." I smiled again. I knew that they would not question a customer for very long.

"Of course," the man said, "right away." They set to working on the ramen.

"OLD MAN!"

I fell off my seat. I stared as four people entered the ramen stand. No, no, no, no! This can't be happening! This is soooooo unfair! I don't want to be near these people! Why do I always end up going near these people? NO!

"Nothing beats some good ramen after a hard day's work." Naruto said smiling as he sat down on a stool. There were only five seats in the Ichiraku at the moment (there might be more, I really don't pay enough attention to the anime at times) so we took up the space. From the road, this is how the seating arrangement goes: Sakura, Kakashi, Naruto, me, Sasuke. I suddenly felt as though I entered war zone. I shuddered again and bent forward to conceal myself. I did not want to be recognized.

"Here you go." The woman said as she handed the bowl of ramen to me.

"Thanks!" Naruto said and took it. I stared at him while the owner of the ramen stand hit him over the head with a ladle.

"What are you doing, Naruto, that's this lady's here!"

Naruto rubbed his head while the owner handed me my ramen back. "I'm sorry for that." The owner said, apologetic, while giving Naruto another glare.

"No problem," I said, reaching out and taking chopsticks. As I separated them (they were stuck together like how they are… we won't get into this) Naruto was staring at my ramen. "I thought it was mine…" he moaned. "Hey, why did you get the one I always get?"

I shrugged and put the end of my chopsticks into the ramen, when, to my horror, I realized that I didn't know how to use chopsticks! My eyes widened in panic. What was I supposed to do? Everyone else besides me knew how to use chopsticks! My heart beat fast. This was so mortifying!

"Hello?" Naruto said, poking his face in front of me, "Did you hear me—hey… you're that girl we found in the woods!"

Shit……………………………..

"No I'm not." I said.

A puzzled look came onto his face.

"What do you mean?" he said, "You look just like her…" he sat back down. "Well, why did you get that ramen?"

"She ordered it because you get it!" The daughter of the owner said, "Her words were: 'I'll get whatever Naruto gets most often!'" she laughed gaily.

Sasuke chocked on his ramen (I don't know why he got it before the other three) and started to seriously choke. I have a nagging suspicion that he had started laughing while sucking down ramen noodles. I didn't quite say it as romantically as the woman said, for the record. I hope he dies of suffocation.

A slight blush came across Naruto's face, "R-really?"

"No." I said, scooting away from him, closer to Sasuke. "No, it was only because I can't read the menu."

"You can't read?" Naruto asked credulously.

"I can read!" I said, "I'm an avid reader, I just can't read this language. I'm a foreigner." I said as an after thought.

"Where are you from?" Kakashi asked, interested for the first time.

Shit. "Somewhere." I said, "A little village. You wouldn't have heard of it, we're really unimportant. That's why I left." I said. I started to turn back to my ramen.

"Do you have ninja?" Naruto asked, leaning closer. I scooting my stool farther away. And again.

"No." I said, "I mean, no." I cleared my throat, "Does anyone know how to use these?" I said, lifting my chopsticks. Everyone, all six of them stared at me as if I were crazy. "What?" I said, my eyes shifting from one to the other.

"You don't know how to use chopsticks?" Sakura asked.

Then it hit me. How come I can't read the language but I can understand what they are saying? I stared at my ramen, trying to contemplate this new information. It was so confusing! My tiny brain can't handle all of this at once! It's hard enough to not spill something I'm not supposed to!

"I'll teach you if you want!" Naruto said.

I scooting my stool farther away from him, but, to my utter, utter, utter horror, it was apparently as far as I could have gone. I shrieked as it collided with the person next to me. He grunted as he fell off the stool. I didn't, thankfully. Naruto began laughing and even Kakashi chuckled. Sakura leapt off her stool and ran to her 'beloved'.

"Sasuke are you alright?" She said, kneeling next to the fallen boy. I stared at him. I knew I should have apologized. I should have offered to pay for the ramen that is now dripping down his shirt. I should have apologized for the pain his stool must have caused his—I should have apologized for everything. Thinking back, it would have saved me a lot of trouble in the long run, but I didn't apologize.

I burst out into laughter with Naruto. I laughed so hard I couldn't breath, and Naruto had slap my back to keep me from choking on my own air. Sasuke glared up at me, and then got up. He stood there, watching me laugh, glaring at me. I suspect he expected an apology. I laughed harder. When I caught my breath, I said, gasping for air, "I thought you were a ninja…" I burst out into laughter again.

A slight blush came across his face and he spun around and walked away. Naruto high five'd me and we both chuckled, gaining our breath back. "That was uncalled for!" Sakura said, glaring at me. I stopped laughing abruptly, staring at her. She stalked after Sasuke. Oh dear, I've made three enemies so far: Neji, Sasuke and Sakura. Actually, four: Neji, Sasuke, Sakura and Ibiki. Actually, I thought with a sinking heart, five: Neji, Neji's uncle, Sasuke, Sakura, and Ibiki… are there any I haven't mentioned? I must suck worse than I thought at people skills…

"That was awesome!" Naruto said, still chuckling. "I just wish it were me to humiliate Sasuke like that…" he shook his head, and then started laughing.

Kakashi had disappeared (no surprise there) and I looked down at my ramen. I suppose it doesn't really matter, I mean, Sasuke probably wouldn't like me anyway, and Sakura wouldn't like me if Sasuke didn't like me, so I'm not surprised by the whole matter. I frowned; I still didn't know how to use chopsticks!

What a strange day, I thought as I walked through the streets of Konoha. So strange…. I've made two more enemies. I decided not to ask for work at Ichiraku's… I just thought it would be better if I didn't. So, I set myself to a personal mission. Finding a book shop to work at.

It's hard when you don't understand the language. Believe me. Had anyone ever gone to a different country than the one you live in? Than you'd understand.

One thing I have that I'm grateful for, though, is that I can understand the language. Don't ask my how, because it'll just confuse me again and I'll get run over by a wagon dragged by a horse with rabies (don't ask) again.

"Excuse me," I said, walking up to a random man, "Do you know where a book shop is?" I asked.

"Are you daft?" he said.

"No!" I said the nerve of this man! "What makes you say that?"

"Your staring at the one and only book shop." He said, nodding over his shoulder.

"Impossible," I said, "There had to be more book shops in this village!"

"Yeah," he said, "but his one's the most popular." He walked off.

I hate that man. Anyway, that's good; it means I won't have to get lost again! I cautiously entered the dark shop, remembering how my last job search went. I desperately searched quickly with my eyes (from the doorway) for anyone I knew. No one, I sighed in relief. I stepped in fully into the dark, and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dark. When they did, I walked up to the only person in the shop, besides someone in one of the isles, but I didn't look hard enough to see who it was. "Excuse me," I said at the desk.

The man looked up from his newspaper. "Yes?"

"Yeah," I said, "I'm looking for a job and I'm wondering if you hiring anyone at the moment?"

He looked at me hard. "How old are you?"

"I'm fifteen," I said, "But the Hokage will vouch for me if you're worried about me being immature or something." I was ignoring that 'inner Grace' that was saying 'you can't read the language how are you going to work at a book shop'. Yes, I was ignoring her.

"The Hokage, huh?" the man said, setting down his newspaper. "It would be nice not to have to always take the shifts…the last girl I had quit, trouble with perverted ninja, she said."

The person at the back of the shop dropped something, causing a clang, but I didn't turn around to look. "I don't care about perverted ninja," I said, "I wouldn't quit because of a customer."

He gave me a contemplating look. "No…" he said, "I can see that your right. I think you'll do nicely." I grinned. "How about you come tomorrow and I can show you around the place, teach you the ropes?" I nodded.

"What time should I come by?" I asked.

"Eight O'clock?" he said. I nodded.

"Okay, goodbye!" I said as I left the shop. I grinned into the sunset. That was successful! Now I have to go see the Hokage to talk to him, and to tell him not to pay Neji for the lesson. The thought of the tutoring lesson yesterday caused me to stop walking. I banged my head against the wall of a building. If only I still had the kunai…

Right, I thought, straightening and walked straight again. People stared at me. I admit it must have looked strange. I went from walking to banging my head to walking again in less than one minute. I ignored the fact that I'm insane.

In my mind, I entered the Hokage's Tower with dignity. Much like that of a great Lady. Graceful, beautiful, heroic, gentle, loving, and worthy of admiration. That wasn't how the poor short child or his guardian thought when I stepped on his scarf. Hey, the kid shouldn't be wearing such a long scarf! He could kill himself!

"How _dare_ you harm the honorable grandson?!" Ebisu shrieked (yes, shrieked) at me, pointing accusingly at me. I stared at him, my anger rising. No, I shrieked myself at myself. What am I talking about? I'm talking about the me that have to watch what she says. It's me; I'm not saying I have a split personality or something, I just sometimes can't watch what I say.

"Yeah," I snapped, "Well maybe you should take better care of your charges!" I said, thrusting Konohamaru towards him. "And take this with you when you leave!" I walked by him, but grunted as something collided into my back.

I fell to the ground, and the only thing that was in my mind was something pulling my hair. It didn't take long for me to realize that a short annoying midget ninja was taking his 'revenge' for me tripping him.

"Hey," I shouted, "get off of me!" Someone hoisted him off and I breathed in relief. I turned to lay on my back, ready to thank my savior, when I froze (I seemed to do that a lot today). It just happened to be—

"Bingly!" I cried out as the puppy that (somehow) dragged a crying boy off my back. He leapt into my arms, yipping in excitement. "Where were you my love?" I asked him. He licked my chin, and grinned up at me.

"Hey, let's go see the Hokage, together." I stood up and ignored Ebisu's furious comments. I walked to the Hokage's office and stepped in.

"Are you busy?" I asked him. He smiled and shook his head.

"Can I help you?" He asked me.

I grinned back. "Yes," I said, "I wanted to tell you that I got a job! At the book shop!"

"Which one?"

I frowned, "I don't know I can't read."

He chuckled, "Good luck with that!"

I frowned (further), "Damn, your right…" I paused, "By the way," I said, "I won't be taking lessons from Neji anymore."

"You won't?" the Hokage asked, surprised.

"No," I said, "I have… problems with his teaching style, and he had problems with… me being alive. So I don't think we're the right match."

"I can still get someone else to tutor you." He said, "And I'll still pay for it. I don't want you to throw away your dream just because you hit obstacle. Would you like that? To get a different tutor?"

I blinked. "Y-yes…" I said, and smiled, "Thank you, Lord Hokage!"

Thank you for reading! I'm so proud that you made it to the bottom… Again, I apologize for its shortness… I wanted to make it longer but it just seemed like the perfect place to stop. If you want to review (and please do) it would be much appreciated if you give me advice on which the next tutor should be. I'm going to give Grace one more try at making a fool at herself. Also, I can't wait to write about her first day at work… I don't know what I was thinking, making her apply for a job at a book shop when she can't read! She's an idiot. Again, I thought about putting Neji in this chapter for a little bit and then remembered my promise before. I don't think Neji will appear until the Chunin exams. Unless a perfect opportunity arises, that is. Also, it's vacation for me and I was bored which is why I wrote the chapter so humorous. Normally I don't write chapters _this_ outrageously like a farce, but I needed a good laugh. I do like writing this story with humor, and that is one of the things that I put this story under, so I'll keep with the humor, I will just have to watch myself to make sure it doesn't turn to out of control. If your wondering about the romance, well, it won't happen for a while (seeing as most of the main characters are all at least two years younger than she is) and she isn't interested in that sort of thing.

Thank you for reading, and please review with your opinions, criticism, and suggestions (especially about the tutor),

- fUnKyToEs


	4. She woke up chaos

**Title: **Truthspeaker

**Author: **fUnKyToEs

**Chapter: **Chapter Four _or_ She woke up… she went right back to sleep

**Words**: 4, 565

**Disclaimer: **I wish, but unfortuantly I don't own Naruto. Actually it's really good or Naruto would be just as cheesy as this fanfic I'm writing…

**Apologies: **I'm very sorry that I hadn't updated in a while… Between being sick, MCAS, and Science Fair I've had all I can handle for the past few weeks…Please forgive me. I'll be writing at least one chapter per week for now on.

I stared at the wording above the door. I couldn't read it, but we already knew this. I couldn't read anything. It was my first day at work, and I was still standing outside the building, staring at the sign. For five minutes.

"Are you coming inside or what?" snapped the old man. My head whipped down to see him and I blinked for a second. 

"Oh," I said, "it's you."

"Who is it supposed to be?" He snapped again, "There isn't anyone else here."

"Oh, yeah." I stepped inside the dark shop. I don't know why he keeps the shades down, I mean, people are supposed to look at books in here. Unless… god I hope this isn't like some kind of drug dealer hideout or something. 

"Right," he said. "Well, about once a week or sooner we get a new shipment of books in… the storage is in the back, here's the key," He passed me a key and I took it, holding it carefully in my hand, "And whenever someone buys a book, unless it's unpopular, then replace it with one from the back."

"How do I know if it's unpopular?" I asked.

"The computer will tell you how many have been sold. Usually if it's less than… thirty it is pretty unpopular, just look around, the ones with fewer copies on the shelf are less popular than the ones with many. It won't be hard to figure out. When selling a book, all you have to do is type the code, on the back of the book, into the computer," he led me to the computer, "You do know how to work a computer?" I nodded, who does he think I am? A cavewoman? "Good, well, the computer is already set to the program for selling books, we won't get into that, but if you want to go onto something else, than just," he showed me how to go on different sites and such. "Now, for when selling a book," he returned to the original site, "do this." He showed me what to do, and I followed as best I could. However, I almost had a panic attack.

It suddenly, and I mean, suddenly for the first real time, hit me how stupid it was to get a job at a _book_shop when I can't _read_. What the hell was I thinking?

"Any questions?"

"Nope." I said. Quickly, just get out of here before you realize I can't read! I thought desperately. 

"Well," he said, "I'll be going out now, I'll be back at around six o'clock tonight to show you how to close up, ok?" I nodded hurriedly, "And as for pay… how about 1571 yen an hour?" I was confused, but nodded. "Good. That's being… well, times that by… eleven." He stepped out of the shop and then poked his head inside, "We usually open at seven, so get used to the place quickly before opening it up." He disappeared beyond the eyesight of the windows."

I sank onto the tall stool/chair behind the counter. Right, so I know… sort of how to do things, right? I mean, I can't read or write, how am I going to type the code into the computer? I looked and then, to my astonishment and joy, saw that there was one of those beeper things. Thank the heavens! I praised, literally raising my arms to the ceiling.

"You must be the new girl."

My head snapped down, again, and saw a ninja staring at me. "How did you get in?" I asked, and then he gave me a credulous look and nodded towards the large open door that spread its wings, welcoming from the street. "Oh." I said simply.

"So you must be pretty exited about your new job, huh?" the man asked, smugly folding his arms. 

"No," I said, and then pointed at the beeper in thing, "Just about that."

"Why?" he looked confused.

"Well," I said, "Simple really."

"_Why_?" he asked again.

"I'm not going to tell you, now—" I hurried before he could speak; "Can I help you?" He gave me a look, and raised his eyebrow.

"I don't know _can_ you?" he said, and there was something in his voice that caused me to feel wary. 

"You're not that perverted ninja that shopkeeper was talking about, were you?" he looked hurt, and pressed a hand to his heart. "Who, me?" he asked, "What could have given you that implication?"

I narrowed my eyes, "Do you enjoy torturing me, or are you just bored and don't want any strenuous missions today?" I asked my voice cold. "And we're not open."

"Why is your door open?" 

"Fresh air," I said, and walked around him to the windows where I began to open the shades. I walked to the other side of the door to see that in that short time the ninja already opened all the rest of the shades. It was surprising how bright the place was. 

"Don't I get thanks?" he asked as I walked back to the desks. 

"No," I said, "Now, go away or I shall taunt you a second time." I didn't do it in the French voice because that would just make him laugh at me. 

"You didn't taunt me a first time."

Damn, he's right. 

"Did I forget to mention that I don't want you here?" I said, "The sappy sexy romance novels that I'm sure you like are in… that direction." I motioned the in the direction of most of the books, away from me.

"No, in fact they are in that direction." He pointed to the opposite direction, on a shelf next to the counter. Why are they so close to me? He leaned on the table, "Want to read one to me?"

I pushed his elbow off the table and sat back on the stool, ignoring him. Is this why those other girls always quit? This man? Now I'm not surprised. Well, he's not going to best me. "How old were the other girls?" I asked him after about three seconds.

"What other girls?" he asked. He still hadn't moved.

"The other girls that would work here, before they quit," I turned to look at him, and saw that he had the most beautiful dark blue eyes. Wow. "How old were they?"

He also had perfect skin. No fair. "Oh, in their twenties or late teens." He said. _Sure_, I thought. 

"How old are you?" I asked, leaning on the counter nearer to him. He smirked, "You really want to know my age?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yup," I said, "I really, really want to know." He smirked again. I resisted rolling my eyes. This idiot doesn't know sarcasm when it slaps him in the face. If he's not careful it actually will… I resisted cracking my knuckles. 

"Twenty-six." He said. 

"I'm fifteen." I said. I enjoyed the brief look of shock that washed over his face but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. 

"Pretty young to be working a shop." He said.

"Pretty old to be flirting with an underage girl." I said. His mouth twitched into a frown. I smirked. "Are you here for a reason or just to look?"

"Just to look." He said, his eyes falling downward for a moment.

I glared at him, "That's not what I meant, you creep!" I half shouted, "What's your problem? Shouldn't you be on a mission or something?"

"It's my day off," he said, examining his hands, "And besides, I'm a friend of the owner."

Crap, this isn't my day.

"I'm going to quit." I muttered to myself. If this guy's a friend of the shopkeeper than I'll have to quit in order to stay away from him!

"That's ok," he said, "You failed anyway." 

My head snapped up, "What?"

"The test."

"What test?"

"The test to see if you had it in you to run this shop. You obviously don't. For one," he raised a finger, "You're way too young. Second," he raised two, "you can't read, third, you obviously don't know that this shop is only for perverted men wanting perverted books, and fourth," he raised four fingers, "you aren't nearly sexy enough to run this shop."

I was silent for a long time. My face was completely still. Until my right eye twitched. My mouth started twitching uncontrollably. "What the hell!" I screamed at the top of my voice. He took a step backward in surprise. "Are you telling me that that completely out of line harassment you just put me through was to see if I was able to run this shop?"

He recovered quite quickly, to my surprise. I was almost impressed, if I wasn't so pissed off at him. He nodded seriously. "You can't read, why would I let you run my shop?"

"Run _your_ shop?"

"Yup, that guy, the guy from before, he's my manager. I am a ninja after all. Since this shop only carries products for… bored males, obviously the shopkeeper has to be a nice sight as well. You don't fall in that category."

"And you acting like a perverted idiot were just an act?"

"Do you really think they'd let a guy like that be a ninja?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. It was shell shocking how different he was when he wasn't a perverted bastard. My hands clenched together. What the hell is wrong with this guy? What the hell is wrong with this shop? What the HELL is wrong with this village?

"Good, I'm not working here!" I yelled and picked up a book and slammed it onto the table.

"Hey what's-your-name!" a familiar voice called out. A short blond kid walked into the shop and came up to the counter. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Naruto this guy is harassing me!" I said, pointing an accusing finger at the man. 

"What!" Naruto said, his eyes darkening. "This guy, huh? Let me take care of—"

"You're just a Genin, and I'm a Jonin," he said, "There's no way a runt like you could stand up to someone like me. If you don't mind," he said, turning to me, "Take whatever you have and leave, please." I made a slight face at him and just walked out of the shop with Naruto trailing behind confused. 

"Not to say anything, of course," Naruto asked, glancing behind as I stormed away, "but wasn't that a little immature? You know, making a face like that?"

"Like your one to talk." I muttered. I paused and took a deep breath. "Why?"

Naruto nearly bumped into me, "What?"

"Why do I seem to have the sort of enemy complex?'

"I… I don't really follow ya…" Naruto said, scratching his head, even more confused.

"I mean, I try and I try but I always seem to mess up somewhere! I haven't made one friend here in this village!"

"Hey, you know…" Naruto began, but I wasn't listening.

"I mean, Neji hates me, Ibiki hates me, Neji's uncle hates me, Sasuke hates me, Sakura hates me… that idiot hates me!"

"Well," Naruto said, as I sat down on a swing (I don't know how we got to a park, I think it was somewhere when we were running, namely me, away from the shop). He sat down next to me on the next swing. "I mean, Sasuke and Sakura kind of hate me too…" I didn't respond. I just stared at the ground. I kicked it randomly. "And I don't really know this Neji guy or his uncle, or that Ibiki guy you were talking about… but a lot of people hate me too in this village…." He paused again. "I know what it feels to have that feeling like everything you do isn't enough, like no matter what you do people will always think the same way about you, like they hate you…" He kicked the ground to levitate himself. "Sometimes I didn't know what to do, I was afraid of doing anything… and then someone, my old sensei, Iruka, showed that I'm special, that even though people might hate me, it's only skin deep. He showed me that if I work hard enough, I'll be able to show them all that I'm not someone to hate, but to put their trust in. Sakura and Sasuke and a lot of other people might have hated me before, but… now I'd even go so far as to say that they're my friends." He stopped jumping, "I want to be that person for you," he paused and then continued, "I want to be _your_ friend."

I realized what it was about him that seemed to attract so many people. I don't know about all of you guys, but in the story, everybody, and I mean everybody (except Hinata perhaps) seemed to hate Naruto at first. Through his determination and perseverance and loyalty and friendships, people slowly begin to admire him. Out of all the powerful and amazing people in this new world… I think I admire Naruto the most.

Bingly jumped onto the bed and licked my face. I smiled weakly. I was exhausted and ashamed. I don't know why I was acting like such a little kid before, I feel so… ashamed for how I acted. It was just one of those days in which you felt like everything was going against you. Maybe I'm PMSing… 

There was a tapping at the window but I ignored it. It was probably just a bird trying to get it. Stupid birds… Bingly started to bark. I glanced up at the window and it turns out it was a bird, but no bird I've ever seen for sure. It was large and looked more like an oddly stripped falcon or hawk. There was something attached to its legs. I rushed to the window and tried to push it open. It came open so quickly and suddenly that half of my body became exposed to fall. Luckily the other half was strong enough to resist gravity. The window almost knocked the bird off the sill and it flapped quickly, an annoyed expression on its face. It clacked its beak at me and then lifted its leg. I realized that it was a messenger hawk. But from who?

I carefully untied the scroll from the leg and was about to open it when I stopped. Whoever sent this has a nasty sense of humor. I'm dying to know what's inside of it but I can't read the frickin' language! Talk about everything going against met today! I paused, although it was yesterday that everything was going… I shook my head to clear any distracting thoughts. I opened it anyway, and was surprised to see it was pictures. The pictures were that of the Hokage tower, or Ninja Head Quarters, and also another one of kunai… I put the two together at figured out that a ninja wanted me at the Hokage Tower, or Ninja Head Quarters, or whatever it was. A sign was at the bottom of the page and I recognized it as the same as that of the Hokage… don't ask me how I recognized it, maybe it was just because I've seen the old mean so many times in the past few days…

I nodded to the Hawk and thanked it. It gave me a look, to which I glared, and then flew away. I stared at it for a moment before running out the door and down the street. I realized I hadn't locked the door and doubled back to lock it. I didn't really see the sense it locking it because if a Ninja for an example wanted to get it most of the windows were open and a locked door isn't really going to keep anyone out. Oh well, old habits.

"BLAH!" I shouted as I skidded into the room with all the ninja. The few ninja that were in there all gave me weird looks but I've learned by now to ignore those. "Right," I said, "Who gave me the badly drawn picture?"

"I did."

"Naruto, you're such an idiot!" Sakura exclaimed as Naruto fell over, _again_. "What's your problem? It's going to take you _forever_ to finish the mission that way!" 

"No… it… won't!" Naruto managed through gritted teeth as he pushed himself, and the basket of oranges on his back, to an upright position.

"Naruto, why can't you do things the way Sasuke's doing them?" she complained again.

Sasuke paused and glanced back at them. His own bushel of oranges was at in a basket tied securely to his back, in which he held onto he strings. What was so different about Naruto's pack? Naruto had about three times as many, although his pack was the same size as Sasuke's. The oranges kept falling out and he'd bend over to pick them up and more would fall out of his pack.

"Hn." Was all that Sasuke said and he continued walking.

"She has a point, Naruto," Kakashi said, appearing beside the two bickering kids. He himself was only biting into an orange, not carrying any. All through this he was reading that book of his. "if you just picked fewer, or at least didn't carry so many at once it would be easier for you."

"I'm not giving up to Sasuke!" he grumbled, trying to keep from over spilling as he bent over to pick up one that fell out. "He's just carrying less because he's weaker!"

Kakashi and Sakura gave each other a knowing look behind his back. 

"Hey Sasuke?" Sakura asked, running to catch up with him, "Isn't this day beautiful?" he didn't respond to her.

"_Hey Sasuke_!" Naruto mimicked in a high pitched voice, his face contorted in annoyance, "What the big deal with him today? He seems really pissed off for some reason, I mean, more than usual."

"I don't know." Kakashi said, still reading the book, "he's been that way for the past two days."

"I wonder why…" Naruto murmured to himself, "Hey…" he grinned, "I know why!" he tried to catch up to them but almost spilled. "Damn it!" He cried out, "I can't keep up with them."

"That's why we told you to carry fewer oranges, Naruto, but you didn't listen." Kakashi said in a monotone. 

"Yeah, whatever Sensei," Naruto said, "Hey, you two! Wait up!" He carefully jogged up to them, "So… Sasuke, what's with you today?"

"What do you mean, dope?" Sasuke asked, not looked at him.

"I mean, you look like something is stuck up your ass, what's eating you?"

"Naruto!" Sakura half yelled, half shrieked, "Don't talk to Sasuke that way!"

"I mean… you've been that way ever since that last mission we were on… after which we went for Ramen… and there was that girl there… I forgot her name…" Naruto paused; I should have gotten her name yesterday! He thought. "When she knocked you over and then laughed at you… that was really funny."

"No it wasn't!" Sakura exclaimed, "That girl was totally out of line! Wasn't she, Sasuke?"

"Her name is Grace," Kakashi said, "She's a certified civilian now of this village."

"Really, no way!" Naruto exclaimed, "Wait a sec… yeah, I knew that! I mean, how would she get a job if she weren't a civilian of this village?"

"She has a job?" Sakura asked, "What is it?"

"What _was_ it," Naruto replied, "She quit because of some ninja harassing her or something… I don't really know." He paused in walking, "But hey, Sasuke that was what was bothering you, right?"

Sasuke didn't reply. He had a stone expression. He picked up his pace. Naruto grinned evilly. "I bet you like her!" When Sasuke stopped and turned around to give him a look, Naruto's grin widened. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Why would I like someone like her?" Sasuke said. Sakura nodded in the background profusely. "I just hate her, that's all."

"Wow," Naruto said, stopping, "She was right."

"About what?" Sakura asked, side by side with him now. "That you and Sasuke hate her."

Sakura had a surprised expression on her face. "I—I don't hate her!" She said after a moment, "I just dislike her, that's all! She had no right to humiliate Sasuke that way!" She took a deep breath, "I mean, it's not that I'm enemies with her or something… if it had been Ino there at the Ramen shop Grace would probably be dead by now." Naruto laughed at the truth of that sentence.

Kakashi watched from behind as the three walked ahead of him. Sasuke was a few yards ahead of the other two, and didn't seem to acknowledge that the other two were even there. Sakura was desperately trying to strike up a conversation, and Naruto was trying to bug Sasuke and to flirt with Sakura, while Sakura was trying to beat up Naruto for interfering with herself and Sasuke. _Jeesh_, Kakashi thought, his eyes dropping down to the book in his hands, _Team politics._

"Hinata!" Exclaimed Kiba as he ran up to her, "Are you ok?"

Hinata nodded, pushing herself up. "Don't bother about me," She said in an almost inaudible whisper. "I'll be alright." Shino stood near the edge of the clearing. He did not run when Hinata had collapsed with fatigue. He slowly walked over to them, his hands in his pockets and his head bowed against the glare of the sun. 

"Hinata," he said, when he reached the two. Hinata was in a half lying down position, half pushing her up position, while Kiba kneeled worriedly at her side. "Hinata, get up, we're not done practicing. That, or go home and rest."

"Hey, why do you have to be so cold to her all the time!" Kiba said, standing up, "She's our teammate!" 

"And she's exhausted. If she can't stand up for more training for today she has to go home to rest."

Kiba glared at him. It was true that their views on almost everything were different due to the way they were raised, and what their clans were known for. Kiba was from the Inuzuka Clan, and he was raised almost as if part of a pack. This made times difficult for him to just relax when someone else in his team was having trouble. Shino, on the other hand, was on the other spectrum. He came from the bug clan, and is practically a bug himself. To bugs, particularly ants and such, if one bug dies, the other continue without, not wanting to disrupt the flow of life.

Kiba sighed and held out his hand. Hinata weakly grasped it and let Kiba pull her to her feet. Kurenai walked into the clearing, carrying food. "I brought the food," she said after a moment, "Hey, what's going on you three?"

"Nothing," Said Shino, "Hinata needs to rest that's all."

Hinata opened her mouth, and then closed it, looking down at the ground. Kiba glanced worriedly at her. Their sensei did the same. "Anyway, it's time to eat. Hinata, come and help me prepare, you can rest then." Hinata nodded and walked over to her sensei, while the other two resumed their kunai training. When the other two were out of ear shot, Kurenai asked, "Are you sure you're all right? You don't look well." 

"I'm fine." Hinata said, taking the food out of the package and placing it on paper plates. "I just… I just…"

"You just what?"

"I just c—can't keep up with them…" She said, her voice trailing off. "I try…"

Kurenai placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Of course you did." She said, "I know you did. All you have to do is keeping trying. Don't judge yourself against other people. And don't give up," she added, "You need to keep your spirits up."

Hinata smiled softly and nodded, "I'll try… sensei…"

I turned around slowly, not knowing at all who it was. I was afraid. Whoever it was, I didn't know if I could trust them. I'm starting to despise Ninja, just to let you know. When I turned around fully, I came face to face with…

"Naruto are you going to take all day!" Sakura nearly shrieked, at least twenty yards ahead. Naruto was sweating and panting in agony as he forced himself to take more steps. The foolish boy had taunted Sasuke too much. Sasuke mentioned that Naruto would never be able to carry his own oranges as well as Sasuke's and Sakura's. Naruto fell for it. They don't give him the 'Annual Village Knucklehead Ninja Award' for nothing.

"Naruto, you're such an idiot!" she said again, sighing, "This is going to take all day!" she complained to Sasuke. 

"Hn." Sasuke replied.

"Naruto, hurry it up!" She yelled at the nearly collapsing boy. They were inside the village now, very close to the Ninja Tower. So close they were almost at the door but unfortunately for the other three they all had to be there to complete the mission and they had to bring the oranges to the woman who ordered them. And it happens that Naruto had the oranges.

"Shut… up… forehead." The last part was whispered. Even in this frazzled state he had _somewhat_ of a brain.

"Naruto," said Kakashi, "Remember that day, back when you first became a Genin? Remember how you always fell for the same trick over and over again?" 

"Yeah," Naruto said, "What about it?"

"You haven't improved."

"YOU!" I said, pointing. The person blinked at me, confused.

"What about me?" he asked.

"Why the hell did it have to be you Closet Pervert!" I said, using Naruto's nickname for the Mafia man.

Ebisu blushed slightly and pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose, "I don't know how you heard of the name but I assure you, ma'm that it is entirely untrue. 

"Yeah right!" I said, my finger still pointing, "I know you're a pervert!"

"Hey!" a voice said from below, "I know you! You're the girl who tripped me!"

I looked down to see Konohamaru staring up at me. "Hey…" I said, "I know you! You're the little brat who ran in front of someone and fell over because of it!"

"Don't talk that way to the Honorable Grandson!" 

"He ain't honorable, that's for sure." I said, "Don't tell me, I have to train with this kid?"

"Kid!" Konohamaru exclaimed, "I could totally kick your ass!"

"How does a kid know that word?" I asked, perplexed. "How old are you anyway?"

"I'm eight." He said, folding his arms, "And I'm going to be Hokage!"

"Really think they'd let a runt like you become Hokage?" I said, folding my arms, "I think you have to be at least Genin to become one. Yeah, that's right, you have to be a _ninja_ first."

"And how would you know?" Konohamaru growled, "Huh, huh? Grandpa said you came from a different village!"

"Doesn't mean I'm as Ignorant as _someone_ I know," looking pointedly at him. He ground his teeth. 

"Hey you two," Ebisu said, stepping in between us, "Let's not fight!"

"I don't want to fight a kid." I said, stepping away from the Closet Pervert.

"I don't want to fight a _girl_." Konohamaru sneered.

"What's wrong with girls?" I asked defensively.

"Girls have _cooties_."

Thanks for reading all the way through! It makes me so happy! Please, if you want, review and tell me how you thought it went. Personally I don't like the book shop scene, I think it's too random but whatever. I realized that it didn't make sense for her to be a shopkeeper…. Of a bookshop when she couldn't read… and I wanted her to blow up at someone because she needs more enemies… I know that's mean but whatever. However, she made one good friend, and that's what counts! Also, if you do review, tell me how I did with the non-Grace parts. I tried something new, which was having the characters be not with Grace in the picture. I might to more of that. To answer a question from before, this is before the Chunin exams, during that month and a half that they have when nothing happened (which is why the manga and anime skipped it). I'm guessing that in a couple more chapters, perhaps eight to ten, it'll be around the Chunin exams time…

Thank you again for reading…

- fUnKyToEs


	5. Chapter five

"Why are you so slow

**Title: **Truthspeaker

**Author: **fUnKyToEs

**Chapter: **Chapter five (or, _the one in which the plot of the story goes no where…)_

**Words: **3,663 words (I'm sorry it's so short this time)

**Disclaimer: **Hi! I don't own Naruto… the show or the character…

**Deepest Apology: **I'm terribly sorry that I've not updated for a while, but my sister Sarah just had a baby (boy) and my whole family has been so busy because of that. I'd have updated sooner if I had the time and mental energy, but having a new baby added to your family is emotionally exhausting (we all love him so much of course though)… from now on I should have time to do more updates more often, because I won't have so many distractions (like my sister being in labor and having children) around as much. Please enjoy any way!

**Uzura-chan : **thanks, I'm glad you like the story! (I give you cookies!)

**Valinor's Twilight: **Thanks, you've been very supportive and you don't know how much I appreciate that support. Thank you so much for reading my story and reviewing!

**Tainted Impurity: **I'm assuming that this is ForgiveButNotForget… forgive me if I'm wrong… but yes, Konohamaru would annoy us all… After reading the chapters after the time skip… he's even annoying then—in fact, he's even more annoying. Personally, I'm somewhat emotionally scarred by it all… anyway, I'm hoping to develop a relationship between Grace and Konohamaru (a brother/sister one), and so that's why I pared them up. In the next chapter (chapter six) I'm going to have a lot more of Konohamaru in it. Please keep reading!

Hope you enjoy it!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Why are you so slow?" Konohamaru called out to me. I glared across the track at him. The little squirt was fast, that's for sure. The Closet Pervert decided that our first lesson together would be running… something I hate doing. Apparently Konohamaru didn't mind it, or at least he was a lot better at it than me. I sighed, my breath beginning to come in small spurts.

"Don't take such quick breaths." Closet Pervert said, appearing beside me. He was jogging backwards, and didn't appear to be at all out of breath, plus he managed to be outrunning me. "You must take DEEP breaths in order to make sure you have enough oxygen."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I know that Closet Pervert, I've taken Gym before."

He almost faltered in his jog at the words 'Closet Pervert', but then moved on, "What's _Gym_ exactly?"

"It's like a… exercise class… I suppose." I said, "I've never really thought about it… I mean, I thought everyone knew what Gym was."

"So it's like Taijutsu class…" he mused, "That's good."

"I know a little of that stuff!" I exclaimed, suddenly remembering my past life, "I mean, one year, about two years ago, I took Krav Maga, I don't think it's the same as Taijutsu though… oh well, I kind of know how to kick… that was the only thing I was good at…" I trailed off, almost talking to myself. Closet Pervert gave me a look, but I ignored it.

"Very well," he said finally, "Well, keep up this good work, you only have eleven laps to go. I have to go see Konohamaru, he finished already."

I gasped at his words, _ELEVEN_?

OoOoOoOoOo

I collapsed onto the ground.

"Eew, you smell horrible," Konohamaru complained turning up his nose. He was sitting on the bench. I, in my unconscious and yet proven conscious state had somehow missed the bench by a foot (but I was aiming for the bench). This workout was much more vigorous than I had bargained for. No wonder Ninja were all in such good shape! They had to frickin' do the boot camp their entire lives.

It took me a while to realize that their training _is_ boot camp here…

I took a few breaths, before saying, "Than move away from me. I don't want to look at your ugly face either."

"Now you two…" Closet Pervert said from the distance.

"Hey! Take that back! You're the ugly overweight one!"

"I'm NOT overweight!" I said, my head snapping up. He stood up. "I'm just out of shape. I'm usually in pretty good shape."

"Oh yeah?" he said, "Prove it!"

"That's a stupid threat, Konohamaru," I said, "How should I prove to you that I'm not overweight?"

"Honorable Grandson, Gracie is not overweight, and Gracie!" Closet Pervert said, turning to me, "Don't talk to the Honorable Grandson that way!"

"Would you stop calling him that? It's getting on my nerves," I muttered, "And besides, I'm _Grace_, not _Gracie_" I frowned. Although I was defensive, I was making it a bigger deal than I should have.

"You really aren't overweight." Ebisu said, yes, I've decided I might not call him Closet Pervert while he says things I want him to say… "You just need to exercise. I'm sure that in a couple months you will be fit. You have the body of a shinobi, I'll give you that. Girls that are skin thin have a harder time staying alive in battle. You need meat on you! Substance!"

This time it was _I_ that gave him _the_ look. This guy… is _weird_.

OoOoOoOoOo

I stumbled through the streets, barely able to lift a leg. I was so exhausted it wasn't even funny. Well, I'll admit it must look funny for a girl to be stumbling through the streets talking to her but I was delirious then. I was on my way to the Hokage's Tower, or the Ninja HQ, I don't really know or care at this point, when I heard a commotion. I looked up blearily, not able to see clearly for fatigue. I narrowed my eyes to see clearer…

A large orange blob chasing smaller orange blobs? And what's that? A back blob chasing the larger orange blob? What the hell?

"What?" I asked the hazy air in front of me "Is that?"

"Watch out!" Someone yelled from the audience. I shrieked as the large orange block collided with me. We fell backwards and were almost able to catch our fall when the black blob added to the confusion. We fell into a head. I had the unfortunate fate of being on the bottom of the heap.

"Sasuke!" Naruto moaned, "Why didn't you stop!?"

Sasuke was on the top of the heap so he got up first. He dusted himself off. "I tried to stop you but it was too late."

"Nice try." I said dryly, "I mean I could totally see the effort."

He gave me _the_ look.

"Stop with the _look_ already!" I yelled, as Naruto lifted himself off of me and offered a hand to help me up. I groaned in pain as he pulled me off the ground.

"Hey… you look pretty beat up, that ninja wasn't giving you trouble, was he?" Naruto asked concerned. Sasuke turned and walked back to Kakashi and Sakura, who had finished picking up those oranges. Where did oranges come from?

"No, no, just a training session with Closet Pervert and Konohamaru."

"Really?" Naruto said, "Closet Pervert is teaching you? Hey… wait a sec!" he said, pointing at me, "How did you know the words Closet Pervert?"

"You say it," I said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I've never told you about that!" Naruto said, "How would you know that I call him Closet Pervert?"

I blinked. Oh shit, I did it _again_! I mentally banged my head against a brick wall while setting off a time bomb for my self-destruction. "Uh… Konohamaru mentioned it…" I said, hoping he would buy it.

"Oh, that makes sense—oh, hey!" he said, suddenly running after his retreating team, "Catch up with you later Grace!" he called out. I waved my hand. I'll see the Hokage tomorrow.

OoOoOoOoOo

When I got home I took a shower as soon as I could. I muttered curses when I used the last of my shampoo, conditioner and soap, and realized that the Hokage's money that he had given me had run out. I'd have to find a job pronto. I sank into the bed, almost not fully getting dressed in sleeping wear, and drifted into sleep… welcoming the sound of waves….

OoOoOoOoOo

The first thing I remembered was someone being a pillow. I don't know why _someone_ was my pillow, but when you're asleep you're pretty delirious. I also knew they were warm, and comfortable.

"Hey… Grace…" a familiar voice said. "Grace, uh… are you awake?"

"Hmmm…." I murmured.

"Uh… Grace… I think you should… wake up." I opened my eyes to see non other than Naruto Uzumaki sitting on my bed.

I sat up, "How did you get in her?" I asked, wide eyed. How did he get in?

"Your front door was unlocked. I mean, I knocked for about fifteen minutes but no one answered except your dog… he barked pretty loud, I'm surprised you didn't hear it…Anyway, I let myself in… but you were asleep."

"Was I…" I murmured, "Well, if you let me get dressed, I'll meet you in the kitchen."

He nodded and left the room. I got dressed (in the same cloths that I came in, I'd like you all to know… since I haven't gotten a job yet all I've been able to afford are sleeping clothing) and then walked into the kitchen. Naruto was sitting in a chair, and Bingly was licking his hand. "I think he likes you." I said. Naruto grinned. "So…" I said, sitting across from him, "Did you have the day off or something?"

"Yup!" Naruto said, grinning wider, "And since the other three don't… well, since the other three are doing boring things I thought maybe we could hang out or something!" he said, his eyes hopeful.

He was like a puppy. "Sure," I said, finally, "hey, you can help me find a job!"

"You don't have a job yet?" Naruto asked.

"I've only been here… about eight days. Eight that I can count that is… I don't know how long I was in prison…"

"Oh yeah…" Naruto said solomely, "I forgot that we put you there…"

"That's ok," I said, ruffling his head, "I forgive you!" he grinned at me, "Hey, let's go get Ramen!"

"For breakfast?" I asked, appalled.

He grabbed my hand, "I'll treat!"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

It turns out that Naruto was spot on. Ramen was just the thing I needed to start a good day! I frowned while eating the noodles, trying not to remind myself how similar the knucklehead ninja and I were. I even sort of look like his sexy jutsu! I shuddered. Well… not naked of course. And not with the super long hair and whiskers but you know what I mean. I sighed as we finished our meal.

"Hey looser, where's Kakashi?" a voice said from behind us.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto said, turning around, "What do you want with Kakashi?"

"Personally, I _don't_ want to know." I muttered, but just loud enough that Sasuke could hear me. Luckily for him my back was to him, so I was able to escape _the_ look that I'm sure he sent my way.

"He promised to train me today." He said.

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed, "To train you! That's no fair he never takes time off to train me!"

"That's because I show more potential than you." Sasuke said.

"Hey," I said, turning around to face the little squirt, "That was out of line!"

"And who are you to say that to me?" he snapped.

I paused while staring at him. The short kid glared back. Moment of realization: did anyone realize how _short_ they are? I mean, they're in eighth grade and they're midgets! Back to life, "Did anyone tell you how short you were?" I said, finally. Well, apparently not back to life…

His eyebrow twitched.

"Whoops," I said, "I didn't mean to say that…"

Apparently he took me for being sarcastic, for he just turned and walked away. Another realization hit me: his hair looks like a chicken's ass… I covered my mouth with my hand to stop this from coming out. I'll save it for later… I thought with an evil grin.

"Hey, hey," Naruto said, "What's that evil grin for?! It's kind of creeping me out," he said as an afterthought.

"Oh, I'm just thinking of a way to totally embarrass Sasuke when he least expects it. Oh, how old are you anyway?"

Naruto pointed at himself. "Who, me?" he said.

"No," I said dryly, "the other Naruto behind you."

He glanced behind himself. I rolled my eyes. "Well," he said, a confused expression on his face, "I'm thirteen, I'll be turning fourteen in October, October 10."

"Wow," I said, "You're older than I thought…" I didn't realize that he and Sasuke turned fourteen so soon after the Chunin exams… "That's coming up soon, isn't it?"

"Not really," Naruto shrugged, "In about five months, I'd say."

"What's the date now?" I asked.

"I think…" Naruto paused, "I think it's May first or second, but I might be wrong."

Wow… that leaves only a month till the Chunin exams! I'm not participating, if that's what you're thinking, but still, that's when everyone will be here… I smiled, "That's cool. My birthday is at the end of this month."

"When's your birthday?" asked Naruto.

"May 24." I said, grinning, "I'll be sixteen."

"Wow, sixteen?" asked Naruto, impressed, "You're really old!"

I glowered, "Why'd you say that?" I asked, annoyed.

"Well, I mean, I thought you were like, fourteen or something!" he said, "I mean you don't _look_ like your fifteen. Most sixteen year old girls I know are more… physically mature than you…" he trailed off, shrinking under my glare.

OoOoOoOoOo

I patted my stomach, "That was really good." I said, Naruto grinned, sporting a black eye.

"So Grace, what you want to do now?" he asked.

"Hm…" I said, "I don't know, how about you decide?"

Naruto thought to himself. "Have you met the other Genin?" he asked, "That'd be cool, introducing you to them!"

"Ah," I said, raising a hand, "I'll pass, thank you. I've already met Neji and Hinata. And I don't plan on meeting the others soon." Although the offer was tempting, I didn't want to mess up. With so many people, it'd be hard to keep my mouth shut. Besides, not all of them are as knuckleheaded as Naruto. "Anything else you'd like to do?"

Naruto thought for a good hard time… "Hey, I know!" he exclaimed finally. I jerked from the half sleep I had fallen into. "Why don't we… go find Sasuke and annoy him?"

I stared at him, it took him, I glanced up at the clock, _five_ minutes to come up with _that_? "I like it." I said, "But I have to—"

"Come on!" Naruto pleaded, "I really, really want to! Besides, it'll be so much funnier if you make fun of him! He got really pissed that last time, remember at the Ramen shop?"

"We're at the Ramen shop." I said.

"And if you don't mind, you could leave!" the man said, "There are other people who'd like to eat, thank you!"

Naruto was about to retort but I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him out of the little shop. "Don't argue, just leave." I said, "Very well," I sighed, "because you really want to," and because I really want to, "I'll go and annoy Sasuke with you." Naruto yipped and jumped into the air. "but if we get in trouble I'm blaming you!" I called after him as he raced away.

OoOoOoOoOo

I don't know why we decided that our day's agenda would be to annoy Sasuke. I mean, it sounded fun, but only if you can _find_ the damn little Uchiha. We were searching for two hours and no sight at all! "Hey…" I said finally, "What about Sakura or Ino, they might know where he is. They do stalk him, don't they?"

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Naruto exclaimed, "Let's go ask Sakura or Ino where he is!" He raced off again.

I stared after him. "Didn't I just say that?"

OoOoOoOoOo

"I'm sorry," Sakura said, "I don't know where he is."

"You're useless." I muttered, "Perhaps we should set a trap for him… what sort of food does he like? Not sweets… I know that."

"How would you know?" Sakura asked, "I think he likes sweets."

"Who doesn't like sweets?" Naruto asked, appalled, "Where are they?" he looked around, "Are they even human?"

"Nope." I said, "He doesn't like sweets and nope, he's not human. He's an _alien_." Naruto and Sakura stared at me.

"What did you say?" Sakura asked.

My eyes widened, "Did I say that out loud?" I said, mockingly. "Yes, I do believe that Sasuke is an alien. Why else would he act the way he does?" They continued to stare at me. Jeesh, what did I get myself into? "Sakura," I asked, "What would you do if Sasuke came up to you randomly and asked you out?" she got a dreamy look on her face, squealed, and then fainted. Both Naruto and I stared at her. "That was creepy." I said, and we simultaneously turned around and walked away.

"Right," Naruto said, "Who would have that that bastard would be so hard to find!" Naruto cried out. Some people on the street gave us…

"Stop with the looks already!" I yelled at them. I turned my back. "And don't say bastard." I scolded Naruto.

"You two are such losers." A haughty voice said from behind. We spun around to see Sasuke standing behind us, his arms folded.

"Hey, watch your mouth you bastard!" I yelled at him.

He raised an eyebrow, "Make me." I glared, "see, you are a loser."

"Shut up, you're the loser, that's why you can't stand everyone else!" I finally shouted at the little chicken head.

I dragged off a surprised Naruto, leaving behind an even more surprised and confused Sasuke.

OoOoOoOoOo

"Wow…" Naruto said, as we sat back in my kitchen, awed, "I don't think that any one, let alone a girl, has ever spoken that way to him before…"

"Well, he better get used to it." I growled. "Because I'm not a normal girl. I'm not a fangirl of his either… I hate the little boy…" I paused. "I despise that little boy. Detest, I want to squish him like a bug!" Naruto backed away from me.

"Ok, now that's just scary." He said, his voice quivering. Bingly barked and licked his hand. I'm sorry to say that he wasn't with us with the Sasuke incident, because if he were I would have ordered him to bite off the kid's head. Normally, I'm not as… aggressive as I was. Normally I'm a well behaved child… it's just when someone insults me or one of my friends that it pisses me off. And strangely enough, Sasuke is one of those kinds of people who just really, really piss me off…. I can't explain it, it's like we were destined to be enemies or something.

This means war.

"Hey, what's with that expression on your face?" Naruto asked.

I shook my head, "I was just thinking," I grinned, "Hey, we didn't find me a job!"

Naruto frowned. "You're right…" he began to think. I paled.

"No, no thinking is needed we don't have all day!" I said, pleadingly. He glowered at me, and I continued, "I'll just ask the Hokage tomorrow." I frowned, "hey, what day is tomorrow?"

"Well," Naruto said, matter of factly, "Tomorrow is either the second or third of May. I'm not sure when…" He trailed off. I sighed. This will take forever.

"How do you not know what day it is?" I asked him.

"How do _you_ not know what day it is?" he retorted. "I mean, you're a girl, aren't you obsessed with that sort of thing?"

"Being a girl doesn't mean I'm obsessed with the calendar!" I said, "What gave you that idea?"

"Well, girls are control freaks right? So wouldn't they need to know the date and all of that?"

"What?" I said, "Girls aren't—ok, so maybe we are…" This is when I have to realize that us girls are pretty intense control freaks. Or at least I am… "Let's move on, I'll figure it out somehow—is someone knocking?"

Naruto cocked his head, "Hey… yeah there is someone knocking!"

I leapt up and ran to the front door. Bingly got there first and began barking. "What is it Bingly?" I asked, as I pulled him away from the handle (which he was biting), and pulled the door open. "Oh," I said, as I came face to face with Ebisu, "It's you, Closet Pervert."

"CLOSET PERVERT!!" Naruto exclaimed from the kitchen. I sighed. I didn't think I'd go deaf before I hit seventy but there you go, Naruto took care of it for me. He raced in and stared at the man, "Grace, what is the _Closet Pervert_ doing here? Why is he at _your house_?!"

"Don't get the wrong idea," I said, hitting him over the head, "He's my sensei."

"You're _sensei_?"

"Yeah, and I have to put up with her!" a high pitch voice exclaimed.

"Oh, hi, Konohamaru." Naruto said, "You mean you're training with this person?" he said, pointing at me.

"I have a name." I said.

"Yeah," Konohamaru said, "And it sucks! I mean, image everyday living in fear of cooties!"

"You're so immature," I said.

"Dude," Naruto said, "I totally know what you mean, I mean, Sakura is all over Sasuke all the time, I wonder how he can stand it!"

I stared at Naruto, "You have a skull as thick as cement, Naruto!" I exclaimed, "What's this about cooties? And since when were you worried about them?" they glanced at me, "I mean, you with your 'sexy jutsu', what's the meaning of this 'oooh, girl's have cooties'!"

"They do." Naruto said, "it's just when you get older you learn to ignore it." He and Konohamaru giggled and nudged each other. My mouth twitched. "You two are _so_ _immature_." I can't stand that only a few days ago I said that Naruto was someone I admired….

"I was just about to say the same thing!" The Closet Pervert said, "Honorable Grandson, you must stay away from someone like this!" he said, motioning towards Naruto, "He is a bad influence!"

"At least he's a better influence than you are!" Konohamaru yelled in that little voice of his… which is actually quite loud.

"Amen." I said to that. For once I agreed with the squirt. "Anyway, what are _you_ two doing here? How did you find my house number?"

"The Hokage gave it to me." Closet Pervert said.

That traitor…

"And besides," Closet Pervert said, "it's time to train."

"Train?" I said, "but didn't we _just_ train?'

"Yesterday." He said, pushing his sunglasses higher onto his nose. "Today's a different day."

"Oh joy…"

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Thanks for reading! Again, I apologize for not getting this one in on time… but my sister just had a baby so I've been really busy helping her with him… (he's so cute… I love him so much!) but now that she's got him under more control I'll be able to write more… I hope (really) that I'll be able to get a chapter in every week, if not sooner… but we'll see… Please review, I love them so much!

- fUnKyToEs


	6. Chapter 6

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**Title: **Truthspeaker

**Author: **fUnKyToEs

**Chapter:** Chapter six (or, _The chapter in which Grace does absolutely nothing except one thing: get slathered in spaghetti)_

**Word Count: **5, 108 words

**Disclaimer: **I do not… weeps… own Naruto.

_**Reviewers: **_

**Uzura-chan****: **I think you rock too! I like your pen-name too… it's really cool. Thank's for reviewing. I love your reviews, their so enthusiastic they give me the motivation to keep updating and writing on schedule!

**Valinor's Twilight****: **Thanks. Yeah… I like how she hates Sasuke too… and while this chapter doesn't have too much of the World War III going on between Sasuke and Grace, chapter 7 will definitely have that (as you will see when you read the last sentence). has an evil smile for what's going to happen to poor, poor Sasuke… Anyway, thanks so much for reviewing!

**TaintedImpurity****: **Thanks for reviewing! Yeah, I like meaningless chapters too… especially when Sasuke's in the chapter so I can Grace and him war on each other… I would hate the Closet Pervert to be my sensei as well… I don't think I could stand him _speaking_… Anyway, I hope you like this chapter (it's sort of even more meaningless… but the next chapter will be better, I swear)

**Notes:**

Well, here's chapter six. Again, I apologize for the nothing happeningness of this chapter but it can't be helped. Because there isn't any plot development between the mission of the land of waves and the Chunin exams, I sort of have to do some meaningless chapters until the Chunin exams, in which I'll start doing the more plot and story based chapters, of course those will be the interesting ones because it'll have all the rest of the characters. Grace will have, by the end of the Chunin exams, met all of them. Which might not be a good thing….

Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!

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"You want WHAT?" Konohamaru and I shrieked in unison. We had just gotten back from a VERY labor intensive work out (Ebisu was checking in at the front desk) and Konohamaru and I had been summoned to the Lord Hokage's office. I was very tired and I was not in a good mood. "You're kidding," I said, "You want me to baby-sit this brat?!" I pointed at the 'brat'. I think I'll start calling him that…

"Yes." Lord Hokage said. "As I'm sure you don't know, Konohamaru's parents are dead, and I am his guardian. I have a very important meeting to attend to and cannot miss it, and I'm afraid it's very late. Since Babysitting is a D-Rank mission, and most Genin have the night off—and since you don't have a job—I thought I'd ask you to do it."

I glowered. Of course, the old bat had to mention my disability. What is this disability? The fact I'm jobless at the moment. This morning and afternoon with Naruto were completely wasted. All we did was get me pissed off at Sasuke. Well, I suppose it wasn't _completely_ wasted. "But why?" I asked again. The Hokage gave me a strange look. "Not the look!" I said, waving a hand in front of me, "I can't stand it when people give me that."

Konohamaru was just about to 'you-know-what' but I slapped a hand over his face to cover it. I was in an irritated mood. By the time Konohamaru removed my hand he shouted at his grandfather, "Old Man! I don't want this witch babysitting me!"

I glared at him, "I don't to babysit you either!" I paused, "Hey, why can't Ebisu babysit him?"

"Ebisu is going to the meeting as well." The Hokage said.

"Figures," I muttered, "Well, I'm not going to do it, and that's final!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So this is Konohamaru's room," a maid showed me to a very large expensive looking room, "And the kitchen is down that hallway, ten doors down, and Konohamaru can show you the rest."

"Tell me," I said in a dry voice, "Why don't you or one of the other of the Hokage human resources babysit the little prince?"

Something flashed in the middle-aged women. "Because the Hokage said you'd be babysitting, he gave his staff the night off." She turned and walked away, presumably out of the building itself. I sighed, sitting down on a chair (why it was in one of the many corridors I _don't_ know) and sighed yet again. I seem to have been doing that a lot of late.

Come on Grace, I thought, Babysitting isn't that hard! I mean, I've been doing it my whole life! What's one little kid…? Konohamaru… he can't be that bad—SPLAT. Cold noodles greased down my face, sliding off to cling to one of my only shirts. I opened my eyes to look into dark brown ones of a snot nosed little kid. Wait a second… "Who the hell are you!" I asked, pointing at the kid.

"I'm Udon!" he said. Suddenly pink, blue and yellow smoke bombs went off. I let out a small yell of surprise and took a few steps back. Moegi jumped out of the smoke, "I'm Moegi!" she said, "The sexiest Kunoichi in pre-school!"

Udon stepped out as well, but I intervened, "Hold it right there!" I said, "Just what do you three think you're doing?! You could set off the smoke alarm! And this is the Hokage's mansion! Konohamaru!" I scolded the chastened little boy, "A wizard should know better!"

They gave me a strange look, "Um… Person, I'm not a wizard!" Konohamaru tentatively pointed out.

My head twitched, "Whatever, ignore what I said! And you!" I said pointing at Moegi, "Don't say things like that! You're only eight years old!"

"I'm eight and a half!" she exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips.

I ignored her, "And you, snot-nose, don't you EVER throw spaghetti at me again!"

Udon took a step back, "That wasn't me, it was Konohamaru!"

"Udon you traitor!" Konohamaru exclaimed. He then got a panicked look when he saw the expression on my face. I cracked my knuckles and they ran for it.

"Konohamaru… your Grandfather didn't mention that you'd have friends over…" I muttered, "But no matter, as long as he pays me three times as much as he would have I'll be happy."

This was going to be a _long_ night…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I was now thoroughly soaked in noodles. Who knew the brats would have such good aim? Who knew that this babysitting job that was supposed to be not very hard turned into my worst nightmare? WHO KNEW THAT I WOULD HAVE THE SHITIEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE?! I took a deep breath. Ok Grace, I thought, just stay calm, they can't do anything to you except.

CRACK.

My eye twitched as an egg and shell slid down my face. Those little… "Get back here!" I shouted running after them. They squealed in half delight, haft fear as they ran from me. I noticed with growing horror that they had rubber bands in their hands. That must be what they used to spring things at me. I raced into the kitchen.

"Shit!" I muttered as I ducked behind the door. I collapsed, exhausted, on the ground next to the kitchen door. The kids obviously wanted me to follow them, because they set up a frickin' No Man's Land with trenches and everything! These kids must be experienced at giving babysitters a hard time. And I was falling into every trap… So much for me wanting to become a ninja… I noticed something catch my eye. It was the dining room. I grinned. As I crept around the corner to the door leading into the living room, I paused. Most likely there was a door from the kitchen into the dining room… I'd have to be careful. There was, and apparently Konohamaru and the others weren't expecting me to be in there, the dining room, that is.

I smirked… the brats didn't know what was coming to them.

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Regardless to say, a fruitless and long battle between a 'responsible annoyed teenager' and three young children. I must say I feel sort of ashamed of how I acted. I normally wasn't so… susceptible to such taunting it was just, you know, _Konohamaru_! He's such an annoying person! It wasn't just that he was some kind of random kid that I was babysitting; he was just… being himself and apparently our personalities clashed. However, I won't go into the details of our battle because it was long and detailed and we would be here all day… one day perhaps I'll speak of it.

I had resorted to the last plan—the plan of action that I don't use… just ignore them and be ignored. This isn't actually my last plan of action when babysitting, it's just the one I resort to when I don't want to resort to the last one… because the last one usually leaves children petrified. No, it's not torture or at least not physical torture… just kidding, I just get really pissed if kids don't do what I tell them to. The three were in their room. I made them Ramen and salad and put it next to their door, and they opened it a crack to let the food in, and that was about the extent of our interaction.

Normally, at this time (I haven't heard noise from Konohamaru's room for an hour, although relieved, it does make me worry…) I would get a book and read, a lot. But in this world I can't read a book because the frickin' language is so messed up! Haha… I'm relaxing now… I'm just preparing to be ambushed. By whom? If you can't figure that out… no comment. Thank God for television. I don't know what I'd do if there was no television.

I was just flipping through the channels when I heard a noise above me. "That's strange," I said out loud, "I thought we were on the top floor…" and this was a traditional Japanese styled house… do they have attics? Or did it just go right to the roof? I pressed the power button on the clicker and the TV zapped off. I didn't know what was going on but it sort of freaked me out. "Konohamaru?" I asked to no one, for no one was in the room. Apprehensively, I left the little living room and walked down one of the corridors. I knocked on Konohamaru's door, "Konohamaru are you in there?" I called. There wasn't an answer.

I put my hand on the handle and turned it to see if it were locked. It wasn't. I opened the door, peering into the darkness. "Konohamaru are you asleep?"

There was no answer in the darkness. I ran my hands blindly along the wall near the door, searching for a light, where was the damn light switch!? My foot hit something and I shrieked, falling forward. A high pitched scream echoed the room and the light snapped on. "Oh," Konohamaru said, "It's just you, Person."

"I have a name," I said, lifting my legs off a curled up Moegi, "I'm sorry, Moegi, it was dark and I didn't know you were there." She was sleeping on a mattress that was more like a very think and elaborate comforter on the ground… it took me a second to realize that this was what so many characters in Anime and Manga sleep in…

"It's ok," she said, rubbing her head, "I didn't see you either."

"But you couldn't have," Udon said, sitting up from his own mattress/comforter, "You were asleep."

Moegi and I looked at each other.

"Anyway," Konohamaru said, moving from the light switch next to the door (ironically on the other side of the door than that which I was looking on), back to his four poster bed. "What are you doing in here, Person?"

"First of all, what an awesome bed!" I said, pointing at the bed. Konohamaru gave me a look, before clambering in. "And second," I continued, "I have a name, and it's L—Grace."

"LaGrace?" Udon asked.

"Ah, no." I said, (if this were an anime, I swear to god I would be sweat dropping now…) "It's just Grace."

"Why did you say L?" Moegi asked.

"Because… I used to have a nickname, that started with a L." I fibbed, if I mention that my real name started with an L than they wouldn't leave me alone till I gave it away! "But anyway, did you three hear that noise on the roof?"

That caught their attention. "No," Konohamaru said, "Where we supposed to?"

"Well," I said, "I can't blame you, you were asleep, I just was checking to make sure that wasn't you, or that I wasn't going mad." I paused. I was still sitting on Moegi's mattress/comforter thing. "I wonder what it is… I hope it isn't a threat, seeing as I'm not a ninja."

"Why would it be a threat?" Moegi asked.

"Well," I said matter of factly, "Konohamaru is Lord Hokage's grandson, so it'd make sense if he were in danger."

Konohamaru gulped so loudly that I heard him from way over here. Moegi turned to Konohamaru, "Konohamaru is this true? Could you be in danger right now?" she looked worried, and she turned to me, "Grace, what'll we do if it is a threat? Like an enemy ninja or something?"

Let's hope it's not, I prayed.

oOoOoOoOoOo

For another hour we didn't hear anything else. By the end of that hour, the four of us were all in Konohamaru's bed, holding on to each other in complete and utter fright, the suspense was too much to handle. And, although it's embarrassing to admit it, I was just as scared as the three little kids.

"I see you're having fun."

We all clutched at each other and shrieked. Lord Hokage stood in the doorway of Konohamaru's bedroom, smoking his pipe thing. "Lord Hokage!" I said, "You scared us!"

"I see Konohamaru's friends came for a visit, I hope they didn't trouble you," he said, stepping forward, "Why are you like that?" he said, glancing at our petrified faces, "Did one of you have a nightmare? Or were you telling ghost stories?"

"We were afraid that enemy ninja would come and take Konohamaru away!" Moegi exclaimed.

Lord Hokage's eyes quickly found mine.

_I'll tell you later._ I thought. He got the message.

"You three," he said, "It's very late, and you should try to get some sleep. Grace, I'll see you in the living room." He turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I untangled myself from the three Academy Students and pulled myself off the bed. "You guys should really get some sleep." I said. They nodded. When I reached the door, I was about to shut off the light when Moegi exclaimed, "Wait! Don't turn off the light!"

"Why not?" I asked.

"I'm afraid!" she said.

"Lord Hokage is here, and he's the most powerful ninja," I said, smiling, "he can protect you. The little ones nodded reluctantly and I turned off the light. I didn't close the door though, but left a crack showing.

I quickly walked into the living room. The Hokage was already there and sitting in a large armchair. "How did it go?" he asked.

I sighed and sank into another chair, opposite his, "Better than I thought," I said, "But still pretty challenging…."

"I'm sorry that I didn't warn you that Konohamaru would have friends," The Hokage apologizes.

I shook my head, "its ok."

The Hokage smiled, but then it faded away quickly. "What's this about enemy ninja?"

I frowned as well, "It was about an hour ago, I heard footsteps on the roof. I didn't know if it were guards or not."

"It probably was. This is a heavily guarded building; I would be highly surprised if it were an enemy ninja." The Hokage paused, seeing my puzzled face, "You are probably wondering why I had you babysit instead of one of the guards? Easy question to answer. The guards or the shinobi of this village aren't always… used to children. Sure there are some, like Iruka, who have a talent with youngsters, but much of the time those that are chosen to guard my family and I are very talented shinobi, who have no time to do missions like babysitting. Also, since shinobi have such a high casualty rate, most stay away from starting families, so most don't have experience in babysitting."

"But still, why have me? How did you know that I've babysat before?"

His eyes sparkled, "I just know." He said, "Besides, you lasted the night, you must be good."

I grinned nervously, nodding in agreement. Obviously I was lucky enough to clean up the house before anyone arrived… "I'd double the security of this building," I said. "I mean, I know the ANBU black ops are good at being hidden, but still… I have a bad feeling. Especially with the Chunin exams coming up…" He nodded. I felt ok with talking about future things with him, seeing as he knows. Everyone else, well, that's a different story. Luckily he didn't press the matter.

"Ah, about your pay tonight," he reached into a pocket in his robes and pulled out a bunch of cash. He handed it to me.

"Um, not that I'm not grateful, but how much is this?" I asked, taking it.

"It's 30,000 yen." He said. I gaped. I knew that was a big number, although how big it was I didn't know. Jesus, he is paying me a lot! Not that I'm complaining… I mean, hey…what can I say. I like getting paid.

"Thank you." I said. I needed this. I got a letter in the mail saying that my rent was due… I decided I didn't like living in an apartment. I'm so used to people like my parents paying for everything.

The Hokage read my mind, "Grace, I want to ask you something."

"Eh? What is it?" I asked, stuffing the money into my back pocket.

"I want you to come live with Konohamaru and me."

"What?" I asked, my mouth falling open. Can he read minds or something? "Wha-what are you talking about?" is he seriously asking me to live with him? This is so… mary sueish… I winced at the words.

"Most people your age who are living on their own are Academy Students or Genin. This is because the village pays for them to live in apartments, till their old enough and strong enough to do more well paying missions. However, you, Grace, don't have that kind of privilege, and the village council does not wish to grant one person that kind of liberty, otherwise every person in this village is going to want a free place to stay. I don't want you to be thrown out or anything because you can't pay… I know that you can't read or write this language that is spoken and written here, so it would almost be impossible for you to find a job." He paused, "So that's why I want to open up my house to you."

"But why me?" I asked, "I mean, what makes me so special?"

His eyes turned dark. "You know as well as I do. Whether or not the shinobi or council of this village knows, _I_ know of your knowledge. This building here is one of the safest and guarded buildings, there are constant shinobi and ANBU black ops guarding it, so you are in no danger if an enemy ninja or village catches whiff of your gift." He paused, "Or is it a curse?"

I didn't say anything. It made sense that the Hokage would want me where I could be protected. It's true that some enemy ninja, or anyone, would like someone who could tell them how the future is going to end up… I sort of cursed the fact that I was an obsessed freak who read most of the Naruto chapters. Even if I weren't such an obsessed freak, I would still know what would be in the short future. "Still," I said, "I don't want to be a burden. I feel bad just moving in without being able to offer something, or being able to pay you."

"I didn't say it was going to be free." He said.

I blinked, confused.

"In exchange for a place to stay, ninja training, lessons in this language, food and clothing and anything else you might desire, you will…" his eyes twinkled, "Become Konohamaru's caretaker."

There was a long pause as that thought trickled through my selective hearing ear and sank into one of the deep vaults in my brain, almost forgotten and put away, never to be heard.

"WHAT?!" I yelled, "Are you kidding me?"

"Shh…" he half scolded, "In case you have forgotten the children are asleep, and I'd rather them stay that way. Just imagine it as you paying for your room and board. Or more, you take care of Konohamaru in exchange for all the things that I mentioned."

"But—but Ebisu is Konohamaru's caretaker!" I exclaimed. "_I_ can't be his caretaker as well!" If I become Konohamaru's caretaker, than that must mean that Ebisu is no longer his caretaker. That would mess everything up! Ebisu is supposed to be his caretaker not me! And I swore that I would mess anything up!

"Ebisu is a Jonin, and at the moment this village needs all of its Jonin on hand. After all," he paused, "With the Chunin exams coming up. Ebisu is needed elsewhere. However, you will still be trained under him. Four to five days a week for a couple hours Ebisu will train you and Konohamaru. Untill Konohamaru attends the Academy, which will be in two weeks."

"Hold on!" I said, waving my hand, "It's May, it's _spring_, why is Konohamaru attending now?"

"The Ninja Academy does not go by the same schedule as the normal schools. Because it is a very physical education, they start off with the summer's good weather. Then the students attend all year round for four to five year, or when they graduate, and graduate in the fall. That way teachers who are switching from graduates to new comers have time (a few months) to prepare for the upcoming class."

"Oh." I said, "But why me? I mean, to be Konohamaru's caretaker?" I shivered, "What will I have to do?"

"You will do the normal thing that a nanny or such has to do, make sure he eats, bathes, and gets his homework done. You will watch him all the time to make sure he isn't in danger or in trouble. The reason you are doing it is because you're the only babysitter that Konohamaru's ever had that hasn't quit half way through the night."

I knew it. That old geezer, tricking me with that tempting offer of a great place to stay, the only catch is I'll have to play nanny to the most annoying kid in the whole wide world, "You know I won't be able to defend him." I said, "If he ever gets attacked."

"There will always be an ANBU watching you two, so you have no need." The Hokage said.

I sighed. Now was the time that I was faced with a very large problem. I needed a place to stay, and I couldn't exactly pay for anything seeing as I'm not exactly eligible for any job… The Hokage basically just invited me to stay in a castle for _free_… but I have to be around Konohamaru twenty-four seven! I don't know if I could stand that! "Will I get time off?" I asked.

"Of course, you can get one whole day off, and a couple of hours off each day when Konohamaru goes to the Academy."

"I'll do it." I said, trying to ignore the nightmare that was creeping into my mind. How do I know this isn't going to end well?

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You're moving in Person?" Konohamaru asked as he let me and Bingly in through the large front door.

"Hey," I said, "You can't know that just from me walking through the door!"

"Gramps told me." He said, closing the door behind me. "Don't you have more stuff?"

"Nope." I said, "in case you haven't' forgotten, I sort of didn't arrive here in much."

"No, I don't remember." He said, "Because I didn't see you when you first arrived here."

"Oh right," I said, "That's the other annoying ninja midgets."

I walked through the hall, "So," I said, "Where is your Grandpa, and why aren't you in school?" I stopped, "Oh right… you don't have school for a couple of weeks… then where is Closet Pervert?"

"Gramps is at work, I mean, he is Hokage, and he gave my sensei the day off. He's apparently going to do that more often. Not that I'm complaining or anything. However… he did mention that I'd have to stick with you all day. I'm not too pleased about that. But, at least you're better than the Freak with glasses. The old man asked me to make sure you were settled before I ran off." I nodded. That was considerably of him. I was going to scold him for calling Ebisu a freak with 'glasses' because most of my friends back at home wear glasses but then I realized that Ebisu was a freak, glasses or not, so I let it slide. I was still I little shaky, though, I mean, I did not expect to be surprised with this whole situation like that! However, I'm not complaining… the Hokage lives in a frickin' mansion!

"Hey!" Konohamaru pulled at my sleeve, "I'll show you to you're room!"

I followed him.

My room was beautiful. I won't go into details because I'd probably be here all day doing that and there are more important things to talk about. Like how I'm still a little in shock from his whole fairy tale ending. Well, beginning really. Oh great, I'm going _cliché_. "Hey," I said to Konohamaru, "I don't think Naruto and the others know that I moved!" Although I wanted to just leave that as it was, so no one could find me, I wanted Naruto to know. I mean, for all that he's one of the most obnoxious people I know, he is my friend and all. Besides, people will find out and I want Naruto to find out from me.

Konohamaru grinned, "I'll help you find Naruto!"

Oh great, I thought; now I'll have to deal with _two_ ninja midgets!

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

We searched across a third of the village before a light bulb went off in my head. We then went to the ninja HQ and asked if Naruto had any missions that day. Turns out he did, but the ninja at the desk wouldn't give his location, or what the mission was. Disappointed, Konohamaru and I left the HQ.

"Wait a sec…" I said, "After the mission in the Land of Waves, Naruto doesn't have any major missions, just things around the village, so if we look we could find him!"

"Cool!" Konohamaru said. "Wait a sec… how do you know that?"

I gulped, "Ah, just logic." I said, laughing nervously. He bought it thankfully. It's a good thing he's as thick as Naruto. From now on I'll only make friends with stupid people, so when I slip it goes by unnoticed.

We kept walking, and soon I began to slow. Not because I was tired, but because the scenery was so beautiful. The village was the most energetic and colorful place in the world. It was so artistic, as if those who designed it were masters of art. I was very impressed. Konohamaru tugged at my sleeve. I looked down at him and he looked down at me. He quickly dropped my sleeve and wiped his hand on his shirt.

"Why are you wiping your hand?" I asked.

"I might get cooties." He stated, and then turned around and began walking in the direction we were headed. My eye twitched after the little eight years old, but I continued anyway. I can't hurt him now, unfortunately, now that I was responsible for him… damn.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Turns out Naruto is as hard to find as Sasuke. I mean you'd think the loud little bugger would be easy to find, but no, Naruto stayed unusually quiet. It was nearly dark, the sun hadn't set yet, but I'm guessing it's around five thirty or six. "Hey, Konohamaru, it's probably dinner time, we should go home now."

Konohamaru turned to me, a defiant look in his eyes, "No!" He exclaimed, "I won't go home! We will complete this mission till the end!"

I stared at him. When did this turn into a mission? "_Riiiiight_." I said, "I'm _suuure_ that the Hokage won't mind." I was only _half_ sarcastic. See?! It's an improvement… thumbs up to me. I sighed. "Well, ok then." I sat down on a bench and Konohamaru sat next to me thinking. "Let's see…" I thought out loud, "I'm sure that Naruto and his team are done with missions for right now… I bet he's at the ramen shop."

Konohamaru jumped up, his face beaming, "That's right! Boss must be at the ramen shop!" he raced off.

I stared at him. "WAIT UP!" I yelled, leaping up. The squirt could run fast.

I had to apologize many times when I knocked a few civilians over. I guess I'm not as agile as the ninja's are at running through tight crowds trying to catch up with an aggravating little toddler. By the time I caught up with Konohamaru, he was looking around confused. "I thought it was right here…" he mused.

I gasped for breath. "Konohamaru!" I exclaimed, "Don't run away like that!"

He turned to me, "Oh, Person, there you are."

I was about to tell him that 'Person' was not my name, but I was out of breath. "Just stay with me." I said.

"Ok, it's this way." He walked this time, thankfully.

"Are you sure?" I asked, "I mean you sort of forgot a little earlier didn't you?"

"The village looks different when it's dark." He stated. He was right. I hadn't seen the village when the sun set. People where setting out lights, and there were thousands of them everywhere. It was quite beautiful. "There it is!" he pointed.

I saw the ramen shop, and saw that Team seven was eating at it. "Oh great," I said, "I have to deal with _them_ too?"

"NARUTO!" Konohamaru yelled, running toward the shop. Eyes and heads turned toward him, and then towards me. My shoulders sagged. This was going to take a while, I see.

"Oh," Naruto said, turning around, "It's you, Konohamaru."

Konohamaru jumped in the seat next to Naruto (the formation, from my point of view, which was behind them, was Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, Konohamaru, and Sasuke… why was that familiar?). "I want some ramen, Ramen Man!" Konohamaru said. The man at the ramen stand and his daughter smiled and began to get it ready. That little rat could probably get everything he wanted for free. "And get one for Person as well!"

I made my entrance then, pushing away the short curtain to let myself in. There weren't any stools left, so I stood behind Konohamaru. "Hi, Naruto." I said, "Hi, Kakashi and Sakura." Notice how I didn't say anything to Sasuke.

"Hello." Sakura said.

"Yo." Kakashi said, not looking at me.

"Hey, Grace!" Naruto said, "Where have you been?! I went to your place this morning but you weren't there!"

"I don't live there anymore." I said, "I live with the Hokage."

"You live with that old pervert?" Naruto asked, his eyes bulging. Kakashi leaned around Sakura to smack him on the head.

"Don't talk about Lord Hokage that way." He said. Then he continued to read that book. Learning the language might be worth while just to figure out what's in that book… then again, I don't think I _want_ to know. Sasuke was ignoring me, which was fine by me. However, I do kind of wish I had an excuse to embarrass him again. It can't hurt, I mean, I've embarrassed him before, no matter how many times more I aggravate and humiliate him it can't hurt. Right?

How wrong I was…

oOoOoOoOoOo

Thanks for reading! This was another one of those silly meaningless chapters… but until the Chunin exams there really isn't any plot movement in the actual story, so for a few more chapters it will just be character and relationship development, that way the Chunin exam chapters will be more interesting because Team 7 and perhaps some more characters will know Grace more…

I hope that the whole Grace living with the Hokage isn't too Mary Sue-ish… that wasn't my intention. It was really because I realized that if anyone found out that Grace knew what was going to happen they would want her, because then they would have an advantage. It makes sense that the safest place would be close to the Hokage. She is also valuable, because she knows what will happen, so the Hokage might want to keep an eye on her. It wasn't because I wanted her to live in a cool place, but because it made sense.

Well, sorry if this chapter was another boring one… but again it will get more plot based once the Chunin exams start… I'm guessing that will be in perhaps… say four or five more chapters, maybe more if I think of something interesting. However, if you think that I should speed up the time, just tell me and I will. I don't want to bore you guys, I just want to develop Grace and the other characters personalities and relationships.

In some later chapter I might write about what went on in Konohamaru's war with Grace, but right now I didn't see it necessary to go into detail. All that was needed to know was that it was long and it made a mess.

One last thing, did I spell Jonin, Chunin, and Genin right? I'm not quite sure of the spelling seeing as I've seen them all spelled different ways…

Thanks again for reading; it really means a lot to me!

Please review!

- fUnKyToEs


	7. The worst possible scenario

oOoOoOoOoOo

**Title: **Truthspeaker

**Author: **fUnKyToEs

**Chapter: **Chapter Seven, or "the chapter in which Grace finds herself in the worst scenario possible"

**Words: **3,849 words (I don't know why my chapters are getting shorter and shorter…. I'll try to make the next one at least 5,000 words)

**Disclaimer: **I think I've been forgetting to do these… so I apologize. I do not own anyone or anything that you recognize. I do own Grace, and perhaps a few other characters.

**Notes: **This chapter is merely fluff. The next will only be half though, to finish this chapter. Chapter eight will be more serious… I hope… cries

**Reviews:**

**Uzura-chan: **Yes… I've noticed that I haven't named the chapters. I'll do that in the future.

**Valinor's Twilight:** Yeah, there are so many fanfictions in which the girl just arrives and everything is perfect. Or she arrives and she's suddenly perfect at Taijutsu and all the rest of the techniques even though the author doesn't even probably know what the hand signs are called…. Oh well. That's why I'm trying to make Grace the opposite off all that. She bad at everything. Even at being herself sometimes…

**Tainted Impurity**: You know, if you get aggravated that you don't know her name, that'll just make me not what to tell you more. However, I will say that it'll come up after the time skip. Ooh… I have a question though, when you guessed Lady, who's the Tramp?

oOoOoOoOoOo

Turns out they did have another stool. Because the Ramen owners realized that I was with Konohamaru they took out another stool. To my utter displeasure they placed it between Sasuke and Konohamaru (for those that have forgotten, the formation of the chairs is Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, Konohamaru, the wonderful myself, and Emo Child). I still couldn't get what was so Déjà vu about the seating arrangement, I feel like it was this way before once…

Anyway, to my sheer revulsion the chairs were more squished together so I had to sit closer to Sasuke than I would have on choice, but hey, I _am_ complaining. I sighed, waiting for the ramen to arrive. Kakashi was reading his book, and seeing as he was like four people away I didn't try to start a conversation with him. Sakura was also too far away, and while Naruto was only two people away he was in a deep conversation about something with Konohamaru and Sakura, and I had no intention of joining. This was boring.

I turned to look at Sasuke and caught him looking at me. He turned away, a bored expression on his face as well. "What's going on in your head?" I asked, deciding to rid boredom my striking up a conversation with my least favorite person. He turned to look at me.

"I don't talk to people like you." He said, stiffly.

I bristled. Then I forced myself to relax. "Come on," I said, "You just did, didn't you?"

He gave me a look.

When he looked away, I couldn't resist an evil grin. Perhaps this would be fun! I scooted my stool closer to his. "So tell me, oh womanizer of the Leaf village, the Mighty Heartthrob," he started to look uncomfortable. Score 1 for Grace: 0 for Sasuke. "What _is_ the kind of girl that attracts you?"

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, scooting his chair farther from mine. Unfortunately for him there was a wall behind him. Score 2 for Grace: 0 for Sasuke.

"Come on," I said, holding back another evil grin, I must stay _calm_. "The _Almighty_ Sasuke who cold get any girl he wishes? And yet, to everyone's surprise he doesn't take any interest?"

He had confused look, "They're just so annoying, that's all." He said.

"Oh, so you like the less annoying kind of person…" I mused. "So, do you like Ino or Sakura better?"

"What?" he asked.

"Ino or Sakura? I know that you don't like either of them, but if you had to choose between them, who would you choose?"

He gave me a look. I _hate_ that look… "Neither," he said, "I would never choose one and if I did the other would kill me."

I laughed. Then I stopped abruptly. Wait a second… Sasuke actually made a _joke_! As in… he said something that was funny! Who is this! What did they do with my short emo child!? "Ok," I said, "This subject is boring me, so what's your favorite color?" It wasn't actually boring me; it was just freaking me out. Sasuke is acting… I gulped, OOC… what was I going to do? Characters can't change! Because if Sasuke becomes nice… then he won't be _Sasuke_! He will be… non emo happy nice Sasuke… I shivered in fear.

"Blue." He said shortly. "Or black."

"_Typical_." I muttered. "So tell me," this time it was for my own pure curiosity, "Do you really live all alone? In what used to be the Uchiha compound?" I whispered this so not to catch the other's attention. He gave me a shocked expression, and then nodded slowly. "Where is it?" I asked again, "Because I thought it would be big but when I've walked around the village it's been no where in sight—not that I'm looking for it, I just thought I'd stumble across it."

He hesitated for a moment, a bizarre expression on his face. He studied my own for a moment, as if unsure what I was asking, then said, "It's on the east side of the village." He said. "It's right near the East Entrance…"

"Oh." I said.

I mentally smiled my most evil and conniving smile. Sasuke was going to regret ever telling me where his house was…

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto and Konohamaru and I were walking back to the Hokage's house. Every once in a while I would catch a glimpse of an ANBU, and, although it would surprise me, it was nice to know that Konohamaru and I were being protected. Well, outwardly I know it was Konohamaru who was being protected but I'm sure that the Hokage is having myself (lovely me) being protected as well. Great… I'm like some kind of princess… sheesh, doesn't this ever end?? At least I have to work to live the princess life… that makes me feel better.

"Grace…" Naruto said, uncomfortably, "What were you talking about with Sasuke?"

I looked at him, surprised, "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he paused, searching for words, "What were you _talking_ about?"

"Why do you want to know?" I asked. What was the big deal? So I had a decent conversation with my arch nemesis.

"It's just that… that's the most…" Naruto paused, "I've never seen Sasuke have a conversation with someone like that, as if he wanted to talk, not just give orders on a mission. He looked… happy."

I halted and nearly ran to the nearest trashcan to puke. "Are you kidding me?" I asked Naruto. Konohamaru stopped as well, looking between Naruto and myself. A light went on in his head and he grinned evilly. I had a bad feeling…

"Hey," Konohamaru said, "Grace, are you Sasuke's," he lifted up his pinkie, wiggling his eyebrows.

I stared at his pinkie, "What are you doing, Konohamaru?" I asked, before it dawned on me exactly what he was doing. I punched him lightly on the head and he collapsed onto the ground, "What the hell is wrong with you people?" I said, "In case you haven't noticed I hate that bastard, he's also like three years younger than me, and that's a big age difference when he's thirteen and I'm almost sixteen!"

"Yeah," Naruto said, "But still, I just…" he shivered, "I've never seen Sasuke like that before."

"He didn't look happy to me," I grumbled defensively to myself, continuing to walk. "Besides, the only reason that I even bothered to talk with him was that he was the only person available at the moment. Besides," I turned and grinned at the two little boys, "I now know where his house is."

"His… house?" Naruto said with a disgusted look on his face, "He told you where his _house_ was?"

I smacked him on the head, "No, I asked, dummy."

"No," Naruto said, rubbing his sore head, "_You_ are the dummy. Do you know what it sounds like to have a girl ask where you live?"

I paled. I hoped Sasuke didn't take it the wrong way… I don't think he did, because he hates me just as much as I hate him… "Not in that way, you idiot! What's more," I added, "It was _necessary_. Now we can prank him."

It was fascinating seeing Naruto's face go from confusion to pure evil…

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You sure this will work?" I asked, lifting the bottle of hot pink die. "His hair is so dark; wouldn't we need to bleach it first?" or something… I had a really bad feeling about this…

Naruto thought about it for a moment. "I didn't think about that…" he mused. Konohamaru and I looked at each other, exasperated. "Regardless," I said, "Why don't we put something to turn his hair blonde in the shampoo and put this pink in the conditioner?"

"Grace!" Naruto exclaimed, "You're brilliant!"

"I _know_," I said, "But it's also because you didn't think of it that makes the possibility that it's not a retarded idea possible."

That stumped them.

"I don't know if we should go through with this…" I stated nervously. Naruto and his team had the day off, and we were sitting on a bench near a park, "I mean, it's pretty mean, isn't it?" They've been having a lot of days off… But according to Naruto, they will be having fourteen days of work (two weeks of freedom!) after this before their next day off, so perhaps it just depends on when missions are available.

Naruto grinned, "Yup, that's exactly it!"

I raised an eyebrow, "You're looking forward to this?"

"Of course! Aren't you!?" Naruto asked, shocked.

"I—I guess…" I muttered.

"Then let's do this!" Konohamaru exclaimed, jumping up. "Who should we have go in and do this… evil to the Bastard?"

"Don't say that" I said, "It's a bad word!"

They ignored me.

"I would do it but I have to spend all week with him and I might let it slip," Naruto said, "Besides, he would expect me to do it. I'd be the first person he'd expect to play this sort of prank on him."

"I don't know what shampoo is… so I shouldn't do it either!" Konohamaru said. Naruto and I took a step away from him. "I mean, I think it would be fun to do it—hey, I know the perfect person!"

"Me too! ME TOO!" Naruto yelled giddily. They then went quiet and slowly turned towards me.

5

4

3

2

1

…

0

"What the HELL!" I said, "I'm not doing it!"

"Why not?" Naruto whined, "You would be perfect!"

"I'm not a ninja!" I said, waving my hands in protest, "I'll get caught within seconds!"

"We'll distract Sasuke!" Naruto said, "That's give you time to go put the stuff into his stuff." He paused, "What stuff was it again?"

"I'm not doing it." I said. And that was final!

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Ok," Konohamaru said, "This is the Uchiha compound."

"I don't want to do this." I whined.

"Come on!" Naruto said, as he and Konohamaru pushed me closer to the gate, "It'll be fine, we'll distract Sasuke from coming so you won't get caught!"

"But I'm supposed to watch Konohamaru!" I said, grabbing at the gate wall, trying to prevent myself from being dragged in.

"I'll watch him for you!" Naruto panted, and with one last tug I landed on my bottom. "Now, do you know what your supposed to do?"

"This is so stupid!" I said, "I'm too old for this sort of thing! It's so immature!"

"Sure it's immature but imagine Sasuke with _pink_ hair! _PINK_!"

It was a lovely picture to behold.

"Fine." I muttered, "But this is only so that I can take a picture and use it as black mail later." I got up and took a step towards the compound. "Wait a sec… which house is it? There are so many…" It was true. The Uchiha compound was like a miniature village, with shops, houses and apartments. The Uchiha clan must have been pretty large and powerful. It was so ghostly as well. "Which one is it?" I asked Naruto. I turned around, but he and Konohamaru had already disappeared. I sighed. I better get this over with.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"OI! Sasuke!" Naruto called out. Sasuke paused while Konohamaru and Naruto ran to catch up with him. "Hey, I'm taking Kakashi-sensei and Sakura out to eat at Icharaku Ramen!"

"Loser, we just had ramen last night… and it's barely noon."

"But!" Naruto said. Sasuke continued to walk towards his home, "Come on!! Please! It'll be a chance to catch up on our teamwork! Besides, The sensei wanted you to be there!"

Sasuke halted. "Why?" he asked, not turning to look at them.

Naruto grinned.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I collapsed gasping, onto the side of the street. I just really couldn't tell which one was Sasuke's! Then I saw a light flickering. It was in the window of a house not far down. "That must be it!" I said excitedly. The faster I got this done with the faster I could get out of here! I can't believe those two brats talked me into this…

I ran up to the door and turned the handle. It opened, thankfully. I didn't step in, though, what if he set a trap? I poked my foot in and sighed when nothing came my way. I walked in. His house was about the size of the Hokage's mansion, no kidding! It was also very expensive looking, and very neat. It was dusty, though, and something twanged inside when I realized that Sasuke must have left things just as they were since that night. I shook my head. Where was the stairs?

I saw them and took the steps two at a time. I was that eager to be done with. I left the light on; it was in the living room, in case Sasuke returned to his house. Duh, of course he would. Still, I didn't want him too suspicious although being a ninja I'm sure he'll figure it out. There were many rooms in the upstairs, most being bedrooms. I ignored the ones that had that dusty old look, wondering what kind of room Sasuke would have. I didn't have a clue, and you can always tell so much about a person from their room.

By the time I got to the last room, I knew it was it. I opened it, and was shocked to see quite a spacious and neat room. "So… clean…" I said. His bed was made, no cloths on the floor, no messes. Who knew? He also had a balcony… the lucky bastard, with big French doors to boot.

There was another door in his room. That must be the bathroom. I rushed over there but it was just a closet. Closing it I went to the other door. This was the bathroom. The bathroom was exceptionally clean. This was getting scary. I went to the shower and pulled back the curtain. There was the shampoo and conditioner… I froze.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So…" Naruto said, "This is pretty cool, eh? All of us eating together?" the other four didn't' reply. _Please_… Naruto pleaded, hurry up Grace!

"Naruto…" Sakura said, "This is nice and all but why are you randomly treating us out to eat? And where's Grace? Don't you usually hang out with her when you have the day off?"

"Um…" Naruto said, I need to think up an excuse quick! He thought. "I wanted to discuss her party!"

"Her party?" Kakashi asked, "What party?"

"Her birthday party," Naruto said, grinning nervously, rubbing the back of this head, "You know, a _surprise_ birthday party."

"Oh!" Sakura said, excitedly, "is her birthday coming up?"

"It's…" Naruto paused, when is her birthday? She mentioned it once… he thought… "It's at the end of the month, but I want it to be cool for her because it's going to be her sweet sixteen."

They looked at her, "She's sixteen years old?" Kakashi asked, surprised, "I knew she was tall as an adult, but I thought she was younger."

"Nope." Naruto said, "She'll be turning sixteen at the end of this month." He paused, "Do any of you want to help out?"

"I'll help!" Sakura said, "And I'm sure Ino wouldn't mind either."

"Great!" Naruto said, oh _great_, he thought, what did I just do? "What about you Kakashi-sensei?"

"Sure… I'll help." He was busy reading his book.

"And you?" Naruto said, turning to face Sasuke.

He gaped. Sasuke was no where to be seen!

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

HE USES THE SAME SHAMPOO AS ME? I shrieked in my head, "No way!" I will never use that shampoo again! I swore to myself. I can't believe I cleaned my hair with the same shit as Sasuke! This was bad… I really loved that stuff! It was too flowery and it actually smelled fresh. It was fresh breeze stuff… I felt faint from horror. My hair smells the same as Sasuke's… Anyway, I emptied the blonde stuff (I don't really know what it is, Naruto got all of this stuff) into the shampoo and the pink die into the conditioner. Hopefully this would work. Actually, I sort of wished it wouldn't… what am I saying! The brat deserves this!

I turned off the light in the bathroom and walked out. I looked again at Sasuke's room. What if… I glanced at the door. Just a quick peek…

I walked over to the dresser… wait… should I look at the bookcase? I don't know what I was so curious about. I mean, I was probably the first girl to ever look at Sasuke's room… taking that back, I'm probably the first _person_ to ever look at his room! I wondered what sort of stuff was in his room. It still ticked me off that his room was cleaner and neater than my room ever was in my long sixteen years of life, but whatever. I looked at the ground. The carpet was even clean! No blemishes anywhere!

Where was I going to look? I wondered if he had any other kinds of clothing, besides the stuff he wears every day, all day. I'm sure he had other kinds, I mean ninjas must have social lives, right?

Sasuke is a very social ninja…

I walked over to his dresser… could I dare this? My hands were shaking… I was such an idiot! Grace turn away and leave! My body had a mind of its own. My hand slid open the top drawer and I looked inside. All of his clothing were neatly folded and place extremely neatly into the drawer. I would never be able to live with such a clean _freak_! No offence meant to any clean obsessive people out there, I'm just the opposite of that kind of person…

His clothing was also color coordinated. I can't believe this. All of his clothing was in the dark blues and blacks. Some were gray, like pants. Nothing interesting. I saw a drawer that I didn't notice before.

Would I dare that? There was only one thing that it could be…

I reached towards it. Would I dare? I suppose this would make a good story… and blackmail material. After all, not only will I be the only girl to enter the great Uchiha's house and see his bathroom and bedroom but I'll also be the first person probably to know what kind of undergarment he wears…

I heard the door open and shut outside. I froze. It's a good thing that I left the lights off! I quickly shut the drawers. Hopefully Sasuke, or whoever it was (I was silently hoping that it was one of the ANBU guards, _not_ Sasuke) didn't notice I was here. I don't think he or they did, because otherwise they would have come through the window and surprised me. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I ran to the door. As I reached for the handle, I watched with horror as it turned on its own.

The door swung open.

I screamed.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Oh… NO!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping up, "Sasuke! He's gone!"

"Yeah," Kakashi said, "He left a while ago. I assume that he went back to his house."

"Oh…" Sakura said, disappointed, "I didn't get to talk to him!"

"Naruto!" Konohamaru said! "He can't go back! Grace—"

Naruto grabbed Konohamaru, "Let's go, Konohamaru!"

"Wait!" Kakashi called out, "Naruto, you didn't finish your ramen!"

Kakashi and Sakura looked at the half full bowl of ramen. They looked at each other. "What's wrong!" Sakura asked, "Something must be really, really wrong for Naruto to leave a ramen bowl unfinished!"

Kakashi was lost for words.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke doubled back and nearly fell. He obviously did not expect me to be there. He blinked in surprise and I continued to scream. When I stopped to take a breath he covered my mouth with his hand till I calmed down enough to not scream.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his face contorted with bewilderment. I ripped his hand off my mouth and threw it at him.

"I wanted to say hello." I said.

"Hello?" he questioned.

I quickly made sure that the bottles of die were well hidden behind my back (I held them with the hand that did not uncover my mouth from his disgusting emo hand).

"_Hello_?" he asked again, "_Why_?" he paused, "What are you holding behind your back?"

I paled, "Oh!" I laughed, "Nothing, nothing, nothing!"

"Then show me your hand." He said stiffly.

"No!" I said, "I don't want to!" I said, "Um… Sasuke… hi!" I said. "Well, that's all I wanted to do today, so bye!" I walked around him, keeping my front to him till I got to the stairs. I started walking backwards down them, to keep the die hidden. He gave me a peculiar look.

"What are you doing in my house?" he asked, "Why couldn't you say hello at dinner?"

"Dinner? What dinner?" I asked, "I didn't know there was a dinner?"

"Naruto didn't invite you?" he said from the head of the stairs. He began to walk down them, "Are you alright? You look sort of—watch out!"

I yelled as my foot slipped on a step and I was flung to the ground. I winced, ready to collide with the rest of the steps and eventually the floor at the bottom but it didn't come. I looked up to see Sasuke's annoyed face. "You are really clumsy." He said, scowling, as he set me down on a step, "You're a bigger loser than Naruto."

I couldn't believe it. I was just _rescued_ by _Sasuke_! If I were a Sasuke fan girl this would be my dream come true! I couldn't believe how _cliché_ this was! _Sasuke caught me! He held me bridal style!_ I felt like laughing it was all so ironic. In fact I did. I laughed so hard I nearly slipped down the rest of the steps.

"What's so funny?" Sasuke asked, annoyed and slightly embarrassed. He had sat down next to me.

I covered my mouth with my hands, "You are!" I said between gusts of laughter.

He scrunched his nose. "You'd rather I let you fall?" he said.

"No, no!" I said, "Not at all! I just think it's all so ironic!"

Then I realized something… if my hands where covered my mouth, then they are no longer holding what they were previously holding. I gasped. Where were the empty bottles? If Sasuke sees them he'll know immediately what I was doing! I frantically began searching with my eyes all around the stairs, up and down. Sasuke gave me a quizzical look but didn't mention anything. He learns fast. Then I spotted them. Somehow, they had managed to stay on the stairs. Somehow they had managed to stick together so they wouldn't separate. This was all good and well, since it helps me greatly retrieve them without notice, but there was one little, itty bitty catch.

They were on the step Sasuke was sitting on, right behind him.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hi! Thanks for reading. Again I apologize if it seems that the plot isn't going anywhere, but since the Chunin Exams haven't occurred yet I can't really build up anything but character development and characters relationships, which is what I'm doing now. I thought this would be a funny scenario to put Grace into… so that's why I dedicated this chapter to it. Besides, it sort of shows that Sasuke might not exactly despise Grace. He obviously somewhat dislikes her, but he asked if she was ok, which he never does… so whatever. I suppose Grace being a non-fangirl pays off…. Unfortunately for her.

Oh well. I'm afraid that Sasuke acted out of character though, at the last part. Something tells me he would want to neither catch Grace nor keep talking to her, and he would certainly NOT ask how she was doing. Then again, she would have murdered him if he just stood there and let her fall…

Well, I promise the next one will be better and longer.

I'll try to add more 'plot' stuff instead of the fluffy comedy stuff. I hope it isn't getting too boring.

Please review! It makes me so happy!

- fUnKyToEs


	8. Awkward

**Title: **Truthspeaker

**Author: **fUnKyToEs

**Chapter: **Chapter eight or 'the chapter in which Grace tries to get her self out of a moderately awkward situation and puts herself into a bigger awkward situation'

**Words: **1, 673 words… AH SO SHORT! I'm ashamed…

**Reviews****:**

**Uzura-chan: **Thank you! I enjoyed writing that chapter… this chapter wasn't so enjoyable because, although I'm sure it's funny, it was hard writing a chapter without OOCness… exhausted from relentless revising and PLEASE DON'T SEND YOUR EVIL MONKEY NINJA'S AFTER ME!! I'll be a good girl from now on!

**Valinor's Twilight: **Yes… it's my goal in life to see Sasuke with pink hair…

**TaintedImpurity: **Yes… it was funny I guess…. Chuckles. I'm not sure whether Sasuke thinks she's stalking him but I can assure you that in a few chapters he will… or at least think she has some sort of strange obsession with him. She sort of does, but it's a hate obsession, not love. I haven't crossed the bridge of the time skip yet, and I'm trying not to think about it for a while until I get there… I'm not sure on whether Grace will go back to our world, in which she probably wouldn't age, or whether she would stay in the Naruto world, in which she would probably age. If she stays than she'll be eighteen when their sixteen. I'm not sure… review and give me your opinion!

**Inscape.peril: **I THOUGHT YOU WERE A STALKER BEFORE I REALIZED WHO YOU WERE! It's weird replying to a review that was posted by one of your friends. Damn… this means if I take longer on a chapter you're going to physically force me to write! I need to barricade my door….

**Normal BLAH:**

Hello readers! I hope that last chapter wasn't too bad. I'm sorry it took so long but it took a while for me to write this one… even though it's so short. It's difficult writing such an awkward scene! Ah… I can relax now before I start chapter nine…

Anyway! Moving on…

I hope you enjoy this chapter, even though I think Sasuke is a little out of character, but you can be the judge of that. Please, please review and tell me if he is and I'll do my best to not to that in the future.

Thanks! ENJOY!!

oOoOoOoOoOo

Konohamaru and Naruto raced through the streets of Konoha. Naruto's heart was trying to leap out of his throat. How could he let this happen?! He was sure that he could keep Sasuke preoccupied! He let Grace down! He _promised_ that he would keep Sasuke from catching her. Who knew how long ago it was that he left? Could he be there already?

"Konohamaru!" He shouted, "Let's quicken our pace!"

oOoOoOoOoOo

I couldn't believe by _bad_ luck. Of course, it was only a matter of time before he realized that there were bottles behind him. The only catch was, if he saw them, he would know IMMEDIANLTY what I was doing… and I couldn't risk that. Not after all the work Naruto and I went through. Perhaps I could get Sasuke to attack me and then one of the ANBU guards, if they were there, would rescue me and while that's going on distracting Sasuke I could escape with the bottles? Too obvious… the only possibility was to scare him away. But the only why I could do that is… I shuddered. It was the only way.

Hold on, why am I being to dramatic? It can't be that bad, right? In fact, I should enjoy this opportunity to scare and humiliate Sasuke! It's a good excuse! And maybe then Sasuke will stop being nice to me. It's annoying me that he was being so nice earlier. I mean, not that I didn't deserve it, but still, from _Sasuke_… it's not a good sign.

I sighed. The only way to get the bottles was to chase Sasuke away. The only way to do that… I felt like barfing… was to act like a flirting fangirl. It was the only way that I could see. From what I notice, Sasuke isn't afraid of me at all. He'll probably not go back upstairs until I leave. How can I make him distracted or run away? It hurts my pride. Don't for a second think this is just an excuse to fawn over Sasuke. I will take a scrub bath when I go home and do an Asian cleansing ritual or something like that.

I shook my head and smiled at him. He blinked in surprise. Actually, I thought, this might be good. I have a feeling he was being so nice to me was perhaps because I wasn't one of those 'fangirls'. If I right now make him believe that I am, perhaps that will keep us from making a friendship! Because so far we're going down that road and believe me, it's a dead end. Where Sasuke _dies_. Anyway… "So…" I said, tipping my head down and glancing at him through my eyelashes, flashing them flirtatiously, and said, "Thank you for… helping me." I was dying on the inside. From laughter and from shame.

His mouth fell open slightly in surprise and confusion. He stared at me like I was crazy. I suppose I did sound like I was, just a moment ago I was laughing at the fact he rescued me and now I'm flirting with him because of it. Nice, perhaps I should just confuse him into running away! I scooted closer to him, my smile growing slightly. He scooted away. I had a brief déjà vu when I met Naruto for the second time and I hoped that I wouldn't end up hurt. Then I realized that this tactic wasn't going to work. As I scooted closer to the bottles, he scooted farther away from me, which also happened to be closer to the bottles. If he backed into them he would realize that they were there.

Quicker than I thought I could, I switched my seating to right next to him, on the seat lower than his. He continued to stare at me like I was crazy. Hehe… confusing Sasuke is so much fun! I began to stretch my hand behind him to feel his hair, "You know…" I murmured, "You have gorgeous hair…" I was only a few feet from the bottles. All I had to do was dropping my hand and grab them. But what if he thought I was aiming for his ass? Damn… this was harder than I thought!

"_What_?" he asked.

I smiled, "You hair… and your _face_ is even _more_ gorgeous… I see now how all the girls absolutely _adore_ you…" I pretended to pout, and said, imitating Sakura and Ino's fan girl voices, "I'm _jealous_ of Sakura…" He scooted farther away from the bottles. SCORE! I grabbed them and stood up quickly, hiding them behind my back, "Well, I hope I don't have to see you anytime soon!" I shouted, relieved that I got the bottles, "Wait, well, I'll probably see you tomorrow but I'll be there to laugh at you me thinks…" I cackled to myself.

I turned, careful to keep the bottles hidden from him and began walking down the steps, leaving a horrified confused little boy behind. I feel like such a pedophile… Well… he is thirteen almost fourteen… so he isn't actually that young. God, I've never though of the fact that they're practically high school students… shudder. But now I don't have to think about it. All I have to do is get home. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it…

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto had a panicked expression on his face. He had never failed a promise, and he wasn't about to now. What if he was too late? What if Sasuke saw Grace? He shook his head. No, that could happen. He wouldn't _let_ it happen! As he round a corner, he was barely aware of Konohamaru falling behind, but that was the least of his worries. He had to get there! Sasuke would… kill her probably! Not really, Naruto doubted he would go to that extent but Grace probably wouldn't have the time of her life while being caught by Sasuke. Naruto had an uneasy feeling that Sasuke wouldn't have the time of _his_ life either.

He entered the Uchiha compound and saw Sasuke's house. He recognized it by the lights that were on. He raced faster towards it. He would marvel at the size later. He burst through the door and headed straight for the stairs, top speed.

It was only when he covered the first two steps that he realized who was in his line direction.

That's right, lucky _me_.

I screamed as he collided with me. Even Sasuke leapt up in surprise. Naruto yelped as we tipped backwards and tumbled down the last two steps, which I might add might not be that high but it sure hurts either way!

"THE HELL?" I screamed in his face, "WAS THAT FOR?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly at me, and then scowled at Sasuke, "What did you do to Grace?" he asked him, leaping to his feet and pointing angrily at Sasuke. "What did you do to make Grace so upset?!"

I glared at the blonde kid, "You were the one who made my ass hurt like hell!" I shouted, but the two boys ignored me.

Well, Sasuke was on the right track. "You were the one who crash landed into her," Sasuke snapped, "When she tripped down the stairs the last time at least _I_ caught her."

"What time?" Naruto yelled, "You made her trip down the stairs? YOU _BASTARD_!"

"Ok," I said, groaning as I pushed myself to my feet, "This is going way too far you guys…"

They ignored me again. They continued shouting (and by shouting I mean Naruto) and snapping (by snapping I mean Sasuke) at each other. I hated being ignored. More than anything. And I'm used to it… I have a _big_ family…

"SHUT UP!" I screamed.

They ignored me again. I growled. I couldn't believe these guys. Yup, they were immature. Yup, they were on their way to becoming high school guys. I rolled my eyes and was prepared to run out the door when I heard something whizzing through the air. I looked up in time to see a small black barking ball collide with Sasuke's hair. Sasuke grunted as he took a step back to stable himself.

"Bingly?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow as the little puppy viciously tore at Sasuke's hair. Sasuke was desperately trying to remove the four legged piranha. Bingly barked anytime he was biting.

"Good boy!" I squealed, forgetting my much needed getaway. Sasuke whipped out a kunai. "AH!" I screamed and thrust the bottles into Naruto's hands, "BINGLEY!" I ran up the few stairs that separated Sasuke and I and ran into them, trying to keep the kunai away from my precious dog. "Stop it you emo child! Violence doesn't solve anything! Stop trying to _cut_ things!" I got Bingly away, surprisingly, and then got off of Sasuke. Sasuke was panting and grasped his head.

"What the hell is that?!" Sasuke shouted at me.

"Wow," Naruto said, amazed, "I've never seen Sasuke loose his cool composure before."

"Naruto do you even know what 'composure' means?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow

"Sure I do," Naruto said, "It's like, hair or… something, right?'

I rolled my eyes, "What the hell do you think you were doing, trying to kill my baby?" I shouted at Sasuke, then I pointed at Bingly, "Don't think you're not going to get a scolding when we get home either, buddy, you owe an explanation."

"I should say so," Sasuke said, rubbing his head, "That little piece of crap can bite."

"I meant about how he ran away for a while without saying where he was going." I snapped.

"Oh yeah," Sasuke grumbled, "I'm sure you just didn't see the _note_ he left you."

"Good job on hurting Sasuke, though," I said, pretending to give Bingly the high five, "I applaud you."

Sasuke shook his head, rolling his eyes. At least he didn't— "Enough with the look already!" I shouted at him, "You are so annoying, do you know that emo child?"

"_Emo child_?" he asked, eyebrow twitching, "I. Am. Not. _Emo_."

"You are the _definition_ of emo!" I snapped.

"Um, you guys… still here." Naruto pointed to himself. "And Sasuke, don't think I'm going to let hurt Grace or Bingly and get away!"

"_You're_ the one who hurt her," Sasuke snapped, "At least I _caught_ her. And the dog tried to kill me; I should be the one getting the apologies!"

There they go again…

"Sasuke_, I don't care that you rescued me,_ in fact, I wished you didn't because now I owe you." I snapped, "And Naruto…" I paled, "_Where_ is Konohamaru?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sorry it's soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo short but this chapter was mainly a set up for the next chapter. This was basically explaining yet another little mishap between Sasuke and Grace. (I feel sort of stupid for saying this) but am I the only one who notices that Grace always justifies doing things thinking that it'll make things less troublesome but in stead it makes things more complicated and awfully awkward? I guess it makes for a interesting character… I just feel bad for Sasuke, the poor boy must be soooo confused with Grace's tactics (quite stupid ones if you ask me, but it wouldn't be as funny if she didn't but Sasuke and herself into such awkward situations). I hope Sasuke didn't seem to out of character though… if you review please remind me if I'm doing any OOCness… especially with Sasuke. I want to get his character right. However, Grace is one of the few people he yells at, as he is quite self reserved with most people. I don't know why but it seems natural that she gets on his nerves that he looses his cool composure…. It just shows how much Grace gets under his skin.

Well, here's a exceptionally short chapter, but I liked leaving it off at a cliff hanger like that because she has failed at the first things someone has entrusted to her: guarding Konohamaru… it'll be interesting seeing how things turn out.

It must be weird seeing me talk as if I'm just another reader but seriously once I get into a story it's like the story plays itself. I don't even really think about what Grace or anyone would say, it just comes out and then I'm stuck there staring at what I wrote trying to figure out where it came from…

Well, enjoy, I'm glad you liked it enough to read this far!

- fUnKyToEs


	9. The chapter that leads to something

I was hyperventilating while Naruto was shrinking in the corner, petrified

**Title: **Truthspeaker

**Author: **fUnKyToEs

**Chapter: **Chapter nine or _The Chapter in which…nothing happens_

**Words**: 2, 166 (I don't think I've ever written something so short!)

**Disclaimer: **good lord I think that I keep forgetting to do this! Well, I don't own Naruto (the show or the character… although Naruto is my slave)

**Reviewers: **

**TaintedImpurity: **yeah… I've been thinking a lot about the issue of her being older and what to do for the time skip and I have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen…. You'll never see it coming! Thanks again for reviewing!

**Valinor's Twilight: **Yes… I enjoy putting Sasuke and Grace into awkward situations… it makes me feel less bad about myself when I put myself into awkward situations… don't you hate it when you say something that's offensive to someone and then whatever you say to cover it is just more offensive? Welcome to my life…

**Uzura-chan: **I LIKE COOKIES! I don't killer monkey things….

**Inscape.peril: **you scare me… no. How are you my personal stalker? This is strange seeing as I'll probably see you in person some time today… anyway, thanks for reviewing my story! Don't hunt me down with knives during the times when I get writer's block PLEASE! Having you and your blood craving sister as my best friends is dangerous enough…

**A little before the show:**

Hey, sorry it took so long to write… I was staying with my sister because my parents were in Haiti for a week and then I had MCAS testing for another week so that's why its taken so long to write this damn chapter… even though it's so short! Please review, as it is really encouraging!

oOoOoOoOoOo

I was hyperventilating while Naruto was shrinking in the corner, petrified. I would be too if I saw myself, and if I were the cause of the anger.

"You _promised_ you would take care of him!" I screamed at him, and Naruto tried to push himself farther against the wall as I took a step closer. Bingly whined. "I just can't believe that you let him get lost!"

Sasuke had been silent this whole time and was sitting on the stairs, watching in what must be close to amusement as I yelled at Naruto. "You know," he said finally, his hands under his chin, "Konohamaru probably knows this village better than you do. And besides, he's the Hokage's grandson, aren't there ANBU black ops watching him?"

"Yes, but that's not the point," I moaned, "The point is that I let the Hokage down. I promised the Hokage I would never let him out of my sight, or let him go into possible danger!"

"And you put him in _Naruto's_ care?" Sasuke asked.

"Hey!" Naruto said, "He was right behind me the whole way we ran here! I even saw him when I entered the Uchiha compound (big house by the way Sasuke) and it was only when you said anything that he disappeared!"

"So he's somewhere close by." Sasuke said, standing up, "Sitting around isn't going to do anything." He walked down the rest of the stairs and passed me, heading for the door. "How good is Bingly's sense of smell?"

"Oh!" I said, looking down at the puppy, "I didn't think of that! Wait a sec…" I turned to Sasuke warily, "Why are you helping us?" or, what are you going to get out of it?

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Don't get the wrong idea," he said, "He's the Hokage's grandson, and therefore is affiliated with the Hokage. It would be reckless and against my duty as a shinobi of this village if I didn't secure his safety." He turned and walked out the door.

"I hate him…" I muttered. "He could at least have come up with a better reason, like, 'to be nice to you Grace', or 'because you're such a wonderful person and I'll do anything you want'…"

"Why?" Naruto asked, getting up, "would you want him to be obsessed with you?"

"Not obsessed like 'love' or anything," I said, "Just… I just want him to do something and not make it seem like he doesn't care about it. Doesn't he have any COMPASSION?"

"We're wasting time," Sasuke called from the porch.

I ground my teeth and ran out the door.

"You run weird; maybe your personality affects it." He said before turning and walking off the porch and onto the road.

I just ignored him. "Konohamaru?" I called out into the emptiness around me. I was so afraid… what if something happened to him? Naruto paused for a second.

"If we separate, then we can find him faster." He said.

"My lord," I said, "Naruto just said his first intelligent sentence!"

"Thanks!" Naruto said, and then he stopped, looking confused, he shook his head, "Anyway, I'll go this way and you and Sasuke and go that way!" he disappeared. I blinked at the spot where he used to be.

"Remind me to blast him into smithereens when we get back." I told Sasuke, "That is, if you're still alive by the time we get back."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Let's get going."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

We walked in silence. I realized a while ago that calling out his name would only be a distraction (Konohamaru's that is) so we just went quietly, looking for clues to where he would be. Sasuke and I walked side by side, but at least ten feet from each other. Thankfully.

"By the way…" I said, "I didn't mean any of the stuff I said before, you know."

"What stuff?" he asked.

"You know, about how your _gorgeous_." I said. "Because just to let you know, its all false. You're not gorgeous… I mean, your hot—no!" I shouted, "_I_ don't find you attractive, that's what I meant to say. Obviously some people do or you wouldn't have a fan club." I did actually find him attractive because, let's face it, I'm a girl!

He got an uncomfortable expression on his face, "I gathered that." He said, finally, "You didn't seem like the kind of person to do or say that. It was sort of surprising though."

"Yeah… sorry." I said. I can't believe I just apologized to the greatest jerk of mankind! "But you do have nice hair."

"What?" he asked, giving me a strange look.

"No, it's just… soft. Like… rustic and yet sophisticated." I forced myself to stop talking there before I went somewhere I didn't want to be. I can't believe I just said that! I just hate awkward silences and I always have to say something… and it's usually what you don't want to say. "So… do you like long hair?"

"…" he didn't answer.

"You know," I said, trying to strike up a conversation, "Like… Sakura and Ino all say you like girl's with long hair."

"What do they know?" he said, an annoyed expression on his face.

"You mean you don't like girls?" I smirked.

He gave me a look, "No." he said, "I mean, I like girls, I just don't like those kinds of girls."

"I have a lot of disappointed friends…" I muttered under my breath. "So, what kind of girl do you like?"

He didn't answer. "I don't know." He said, "I'm only thirteen."

He was right. Anyway, I thought it was cute how he didn't know what kind of girl he was attracted to. Cute in a little boy cute, not in an attractive way. Ah… I hate awkward silences! I just can't stand them I feel like my brain is being turned inside out! AHHH!

"What kind of guy do you like?" he asked me.

"What kind of question is that!" I asked, outraged. How dare he ask such a personal question!

"You asked me the same question!" he retorted. Oh… right.

I sighed, exasperated, "Fine. I like…" I paused, "I like mature, but kind of funny, like cute playful boy who likes to make me smile and laugh but can also be… like, serious and all that. I want him to be physically fit, and really strong and powerful, compassionate, passionate, sweat, intense, loving, a little obsessive, spoiling…"

"Ok," he laughed, "Is there a list you're reading off of?"

I stopped, "Did you just _laugh_?"

He froze, "No." he said. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You just laughed!" I said, excitedly pointing at him, "I can't believe that Sasuke Uchiha laughed! _You_ don't laugh! You just _laughed_!"

"So do girls really think about their perfect guy so much?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"But you _laughed_!"

"I asked you a question." He snapped

"I just can't believe you laughed!" I said. Then I chuckled, "I can't wait to tell Naruto about this… well, yeah. It's sort of all girl's think about. I mean, don't guys like… when they are trying to fall asleep they dream about their perfect match?"

"…No." he said. "I don't understand girls…."

"Like, for me it's I'll meet this handsome powerful ninja and he'll totally sweep me off my feet and we'll date but he's like from another village so we can't really see each other that often and then we get engaged but I find out he's a missing nin, so, we can't get married so he kidnaps me." I said.

Sasuke choked, exhaling and inhaling a lot per second.

"Are you _laughing_ at my fantasy?" I demanded.

He covered his mouth, and I could hear the laughter he was trying to cover.

"What's so funny?" I asked him.

"You're… so pathetic!" he said. "I can't believe you waste your time thinking about that sort of stuff." He lifted his hand off his face, his face serious again.

"Believe me, it's a lot more elaborate than that." I said.

"Oh?" he said, and he looked like he was on the verge of laughter again, but managed to hold it in, "Is that so? What's the name of your 'so-called-man'?"

"I can't tell you!" I said, "Because he's a real person." I said again. How could I tell him that my dream guy was Itachi? Not that I like Itachi, Itachi is just…. Well, he is actually gorgeous an he's a missing nin, best of both worlds. But Sasuke would kill me no joke! I paused, "Weren't we supposed to do something?" I asked.

Sasuke stopped, "If you're talking about looking for Konohamaru…. We're already on the other side of the village…."

"Jah!" I said, "We've got to go back!" I ran to Sasuke and grabbed his arm and began running through the streets.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Sasuke shouted at me.

"No!" I yelled, and then I stopped abruptly, causing Sasuke to slam into my back. I yelled as I tripped forward. However, to my surprise, I didn't fall. I opened my eyes and slowly turned my head downward at the two arms encircled around my waste. "Sasuke…" I said slowly, "What are you _doing_?"

Sasuke was ridged with what I hoped was embarrassment. I couldn't see his face, seeing as he was behind me. I blinked. This was awkward.

"Thanks' for saving me from a fall and all, Sasuke, but if you don't mind, could you release me?"

He quickly let go of my waist. "I… uh…." He muttered, "I didn't mean that!" he said. "I just… I wasn't thinking… uh…"

"We'll never speak of this again." I said, and he nodded eagerly. We began walking down the streets of Konoha. Hopefully Naruto has found Konohamaru by now…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto, feeling like a failure, slunk back to the Uchiha compound. He couldn't believe that he had failed Grace for the third time. The first was keeping Sasuke from finding her in his house… the second was watching out for Konohamaru, and the third was not being able to find him afterward. He walked into Sasuke's house and called out, "No luck, I couldn't find him."

"Find who?" Konohamaru asked from the stairs.

"Well," Naruto said, "Konohamaru of course. I looked everywhere and I just hope that Grace and Sasuke are able to find—WHOA!" he said, doubling back at the sight of Konohamaru on the stairs, "I found you!" he yelled and ran up the stairs, tears of relief running down his face as he hugged Konohamaru, "Grace will be so happy!"

"Found me?" Konohamaru asked, prying Naruto's arms off of him, "I wasn't lost, just to let you know."

"You weren't?" Naruto asked, confused, "Can we just say you were so Grace will like me again?"

"Why wouldn't she like you?" Konohamaru asked.

"Well… apparently when I got into the house the first time you were missing… so she had a cow."

Konohamaru's eyes widened and looked around, "Really? Where's the cow?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "It's a figure of speech, Konohamaru, it means that she got really, really, really mad."

"OH." Konohamaru said, "Well, I was just upstairs making sure that Grace got done what she needed to get done, because I wasn't sure if Sasuke perhaps interrupted her. So far, everything looks great, Sasuke doesn't know, right?" Naruto shook his head, "Anyway," Konohamaru continued, "I did hear a lot of commotion from downstairs but I had to ignore that, and when I came down everyone was gone."

"We went looking for you." Naruto explained.

"KONOHAMARU!" I screamed as I rushed through the door, "Where have you been?" I crashed into him and hugged him tightly. "I was just," he whispered in my ear, "Checking on stuff."

"Oh." I said, releasing him, "So you weren't lost?"

"Nope." Konohamaru said.

Naruto cringed.

"Which means," I said, turning to Naruto. He took a step backwards, "That I forgive you because you didn't loose Konohamaru."

Naruto sank to the floor in relief.

I sighed, "it's getting late, Konohamaru, we should probably get back to the house now. Naruto, you can go back by yourself, right?"

He gave me a look, "I'm almost fourteen you know." He muttered. "You might as well start treating my like one."

"Thirteen and a half," I pointing out, "and besides, you have the brain capacity of a three year old. Not to mention the attention span of a fish."

I took hold of Konohamaru's hand, "We have to get up early tomorrow so we'll see you later." I waved to Naruto but ignored Sasuke.

When we cleared the Uchiha Compound, Konohamaru asked, "Why do we have to get up early?"

"To get to the Ninja Administrative or whatever it's called building before they do so—no… let's just go see Sasuke early in the morning!" I grinned, this is going to be sooooo great! I need a camera.

oOoOoOoOoOo

I apologize for the shortness but I felt bad about writing too much and spending more time, so I had this one is short so I could update quickly… Also, I thought it would be funny to wait for the Sasuke + pink hair (you'll have to find out in the next chapter!)

Also, don't tell anyone, but I have no idea if Sasuke will fall for it or what is reactions will me, so if you have any suggestions please review and tell me! I love your suggestions!

-fUnKyToEs

The queen of funkiness


	10. The pink chapter

Sasuke watched them go with a unperturbed expression on his stone face

**Title: **Truthspeaker

**Author: **fUnKyToEs

**Chapter: **Chapter ten or _The pink chapter_

**Words: **3, 482

**Disclaimer:** I… sadly… no

**Reviewers: **

**Matte Gloss: **you're right, he would sort of suspect something, which is why I had this chapter go the way it does… man, you just like to change your name, don't ya? Thanks for reviewing

**Valinor's Twilight: **Thank you!

**Inscapeperil: **'kudos'? I said that to my mom and she just gave me… shudder… the _look_.

**Uzura-chan: **you are the funniest person I've ever… talked to. I swear to you eat sugar? Drink sugar? Absorb sugar through your sugar gills? Yes… the whole 'motivator-by-threat' thing scares me…………………………………………………….. DON'T SEND THE MONKEYS!! Please. And yes, you are slightly insane if I do say so myself. Not that I'm one to talk… but… lalalala… Anyway, thanks for reading!

**Nonsense: **I don't think that there is anything to say! But… I've already come up with the ending (don't worry, it's not for a LONG time, at least… maybe fifteen chapters? The way my chapters are it would be so) but I think it will be unexpected (the ending). I can't wait to see your reactions!

Ok, so I just realized that she arrived in early may, and the story is now only in, like, not even the middle of may because it's only been like, two weeks since she arrived! And I've written so much… what am I going to do when the Chunin exams come? There's going to be like… 300,000 words by the time this story is over… just thinking about it makes my arm break!

Well, enjoy the story! I think this one is funny, or at least ironic.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So…" Konohamaru said, as he, Grace, and Naruto walked through the streets of the Leaf Village, "I hear you had a _cow,_ Grace."

Naruto chocked on something he was eating, and I slowly turned to him, my eyebrow twitching. "Naruto…" I said, in a slow and menacing voice, "Where could he have learned that repulsive language?"

Naruto took a step backward, pausing in his frantic wolfing of anything edible mode. "I'f—I'f dofn't gnow!" he proclaimed through a mouthful of food.

"NARUTO!" I said loudly.

He took a large gulp of food and then smiled uneasily, "The thing that matters is that it was in the past. We forgive the past…. Right?" he asked, his eyes hopeful. "Fine…" he said, when my glare didn't decrease, "Yes, I told him you had a cow. I'm sorry, ok?"

"No." I said, "I did have a cow, although I'm kind of upset that you would say that, so I forgive you. What worries me is that you actually know that vocabulary! I mean, _you actually know what a word_ _means_?"

"Of course I know what a word means!" Naruto exclaimed, "A word is… what people talk with!"

I slapped my forehead with my hand, "One of these days…" I muttered to myself, "One of these days I'm going to kill myself… No, Naruto," I said to him, "How did you know what 'she had a cow' means?"

"Oh. Well, Kakashi kind of explained it to me." He said, biting into a slice of cake. Wait a minute, where'd he get cake?

"Kakashi?"

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei. One day Sakura got really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really—"

"Ok—Ok we get the point!" I said, waving my hand frantically in front of his face.

"Oh," he said, sheepishly, "anyway, Kakashi later said that she had a cow over what I did. I didn't know what that meant, so he explained it to me."

"_Why_, Kakashi?" I cried out, "Why would you put such nonsense where there isn't a brain to _comprehend_ it?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"YEAH!" Choji yelled in sheer joy as he stuffed his face with barbecued chicken.

"That's _disgusting_!" Ino nearly shrieked, and then she looked around, "I mean, what if a cute guy walks in… what he will think if he sees the people I'm with like _this_?"

"Oh, _horrors_," Shikamaru muttered. He slumped down into the booth; put a newspaper over his head, and snoring could soon be heard.

"Come on, you guys!" Asuma-sensei said, sitting down, "Let's just have fun, ok? It's on me tonight: you guys worked hard and well today."

"OH YEAH!" Choji bellowed, spraying Ino as he began stuffing his face even more with everything he could get his hand on.

"Choji that's my _book_!" Ino screamed and Choji paused, pulling something out of his mouth. "Ogh," he said, "Shworry."

"_Gross_." She said scooting away from the saliva and food soaked book, "I don't want to touch _that_!"

"You _read_?" Shikamaru muttered, lifting his newspaper to peer at her.

"Shocking, isn't it?" she said sarcastically. "It's an interesting book!"

"Hey…" Asuma said, "That cover looks familiar…"

Ino froze.

"Ha!" Shikamaru said, smirking, "That's just like you, reading a trash porn novel like Icha Icha Paradise! What'd you do? Pretend it's Sasuke in it?"

She made a face at him.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" Someone called out as a group of Genin passed their table. A dog barked. Shikamaru didn't even have to lift his newspaper to know who it was.

"Hey, Kiba." He said.

"Oh, Asuma." Kurenai said, "Fancy you being here… Mind us if we join you?"

"Not at all." Asuma said, "Come on, gang, make some room."

Team eight sat down next to teach ten. "So…" Kurenai said, "How was your day? Any difficult missions?"

"Not really," Asuma said, and they went off on their own boring grown up conversation.

"Hey… Ino," Kiba said, "is that a pornographic novel you're reading there? What'd you do? Try to make out with it?" He laughed and Akamaru barked agian. Shikamaru chuckled from under his newspaper, and Choji tried to laugh but ended up spitting on Shikamaru's newspaper. Shikamaru sighed and lifted it to peer at the open mouthed gobbling idiot. He muttered something to himself and then placed the newspaper in its proper place: over his face.

"So…" Hinata began, "h-how w-was your d-day?"

"_Oh_," Ino seethed, "it was ok till these guys decided to become all… stupid on me." She said, with a pointed look at the smirking Kiba, "I'm so jealous of you, Hinata, I mean, you get a girl sensei. Me? I'm all alone as a loner female."

"You shouldn't be complaining, especially with those kinds of books running through your mind." Kiba laughed.

"You-you're so perverted Kiba!" She screeched, "YOU would read those too if you could!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He snapped.

"W-wait you guys!" Hinata said, "l-let's not f-fight!"

"Hinata's right." Shino said, "We shouldn't make a spectacle in a public area."

"Fine, bug _freak_." Ino snapped.

"Fine—hey!" Kiba complained, "That's _my_ line!"

oOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto waved goodnight and then raced up to his apartment. He stood there for a second, staring at the door, and then, hoping that he had accidentally left it unlocked, he tried to push it with his foot. No luck. _Damn_… he thought miserably. He had left his keys at the ramen store when he ran off to make sure that Grace was ok… maybe a window was open? He put his stuff (Sasuke's food) down on the ground next to the door and jumped around on the building till he got to his bedroom window. He sighed, feeling the panes till he got to where it would open. He grinned as it clicked and he slid it up.

"That's proof…" he murmured to himself as he hopped through the window, "of how great a ninja I am. I mean—I'm totally the best guy in the world. He stopped as he passed a mirror, and then doubled up to stare at it. He made a pose and said, in a deep voice, "I'm going to be the best Hokage and the lady's man of the Leaf Village!" He said, winking at himself. Then he shook his head and continued walking towards the door. When he reached the door and put his hand on the handle, he heard something strange. It was the same noise he had heard when he was at Sasuke's house in the kitchen. If fact, he even heard it when the set off earlier to find Konohamaru. What could it be?

He opened it up and stared, aghast at Bingly chomping peacefully on some of his food. "WHAT THE HELL?" he yelled. Bingly cringed and then grinned up at him, "Bingly!" He said, squatting and gathering all of his food into his arms, "You were savaging in Sasuke's kitchen while we were all worried about Konohamaru all this time?" Bingly yipped happily. "And now you followed me home so you could finish—you _fiend_!" He took a step back protectively, "This is _my_ food, _dog_."

Bingly narrowed his eyes.

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

It was _on_.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I wonder where Bingly is…" I thought out loud as I walked into the Hokage's mansion's front door. "I mean, he disappeared right after… no, before we went looking for you." I paused, "oh well."

"Hey…" Konohamaru said, "Are you hungry?"

"Am I hungry?!" I said, "I could eat a cow!"

A glint appeared in Konohamaru's eye, "If you ate one, would you have a cow?"

"That…" I said, eyes narrowing, "That sounds so perverted the way you're saying it." I shook my head. "The point is that Sasuke is going to have pink hair in the morning! I. CAN'T. WAIT!"

Konohamaru mocked cleaning out his ears with his finger. I smacked him on the head playfully. "Why are you so eager for him to have pink hair?" he asked as we walked to the kitchen.

"Don't you want to see that chicken-butt-faced 'I've-got-something-stuck-up-my-ass-attitude' pink hair to go along with his personality?"

"Why Grace!" Konohamaru said, mockingly, "What are you saying about his personality?"

"You know…" I said, suggestively, "Wait, are you pretending not to know or do you really don't know where I'm going with this?"

"I don't know." Konohamaru said, truthfully.

"Well—never mind." I said.

"You two are back," the Hokage said, "How was for escapade?"

"I keep forgetting he's here," I whispered to the Hokage "It went perfect, and it will go into effect tomorrow! I'm going to bed." I said, suddenly exhausted from the day's 'escapade'. Make sure I get up early tomorrow morning. We're going to go see Sasuke…"

I slumped into my room and got dressed. I got in bed and fell… asleep…

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"COME BACK HERE YOU THEIF!" Naruto yelled as he chased the little black dog through the streets of the Leaf Village. Bingly disappeared through a cat door in one of the entrances of the Hokage's place and Naruto just barged through the door itself.

Konohamaru and the Hokage watched, wide eyed in surprise as Naruto crashed into one of the couches, flipping over it to fall into a deep sleep on it.

"That was… unexpected." The Hokage said after a moment. His attention then turned to the two ANBU guards standing, chuckling, in the 'door', which was more like a hole where the door used to be. "Why didn't you two do anything?"

"You kidding?" the younger ANBU said, "That was the funniest—I'm sorry, Lord Hokage, it _won't_ happen again." They bowed and left. The Hokage sighed.

"It's sad," he said, "That my best ANBU are… idiots."

He then turned to the sleeping Naruto on the bed, and the little black dog munching on a chicken leg. He chuckled and then shook his head. "Let's not bother him." He said. "Come, Konohamaru, it's time for you to go to bed. Tomorrow is a big day for you and Grace."

"Huh?" Konohamaru asked, "Why?"

"Well, tomorrow morning you're going to an Academy Orientation."

"But Gramps," Konohamaru asked, "I'm not going to the Academy for another week and a half, it's only May thirteenth, and the Academy starts on May twenty-fourth…"

"Orientation is always a week and a half before school starts to prepare the students for what to expect and bring." He grandfather said simply.

"Hey, Gramps?" Konohamaru asked, "How did you know about our escapade?"

His grandfather smiled and patted Konohamaru's head, "My secret."

When Konohamaru was in bed, the Hokage went to his private office. As he sat there, he looked up in surprise. Then he chuckled to himself and continued working. Konohamaru smiled; they'll be able to see Sasuke there as he faintly remembered Naruto mentioning that his team is representing a Genin team for parents and students…. Oh, this will be great!

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I yawned as I got up, reluctantly pulling the covers off of me. I was careful to not wake up with 'peaceful' mass of fur that appeared next to my head. I walked into my bathroom and got undressed. I climbed into the shower and turned on the hot water. I smiled, closing my eyes as the hot water rushed over me. It was sooooo nice early in the morning. I made sure my hair was wet and then put in the shampoo, scrubbing it in.

I got out of the shower about… oh, say, half an hour later? I like long showers. I got dressed and then looked at the clock. "Holy shit!" I muttered to myself. I grabbed a brush and quickly yanked it through my hair, and then left my room. "Konohamaru!" I called out, "We're going to be late!"

The Third Hokage had already left, as I knew he had too, but when Konohamaru saw me his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He just stared at me and believe me; it sort of freaked me out. "What's the matter?" I said, touching my face, "Do I have a bad pimple or something?"

Konohamaru just kept staring and staring at me. Then he starting laughing and had to cover his mouth to keep himself from laughing too hard, "N-nothing." He gasped out, "You look great." Then he forced himself to stop, "We should go to the Academy now. Gramps doesn't want me to be late."

"Great!" I said, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the mansion. Before the great doors of the gate closed a little black thing whizzed by and landed at my feet. "Bingly!" I said, "That was close!" I picked him up and he was about to lick my face when he stopped, and he cocked his head. I stared at him, "What's the matter, buddy?" but of course he didn't answer, him being so sly and secretive and all. I nodded to Konohamaru and we began walking to the Academy, which wasn't that far from the Hokage's mansion.

I noticed that people were giving me the save strange looks as Konohamaru and Bingly had, and one woman laughed right out at me. That pissed me off. Whatever, who cares about them, right?

We got to the Academy a little late, it already started, and he got in line with all the other students and parents. The third Hokage was giving a speech on something, and behind him stood team seven. Kakashi gave me a quizzical look, while Sakura just stared and then shook her head, a confused expression on her face. Naruto's mouth fell open and he began pointing and started to yell but Kakashi covered his mouth and restrained his limbs. Sasuke stood there, his face shadowed by his dark black hair…. Wait a sec… DAMN IT! It didn't work! I knew he wouldn't fall for it. Next time we'll have to tie him down and force the dye into his hair…the sneaky little bastard…

It was so hot and I wasn't feeling very well. By the time that the Orientation was over, I thought I was going to keel over and die. An ANBU guard whom I recognized from the Hokage's mansion passed by me. "Nice hair," he said, and I could tell that he was smirking from behind his mask.

I touched my hair briefly, confused, "Thanks?" I said, unsure, but he was already gone.

"GRACE!" Naruto yelled, "What the hell happened?" he appeared next to me, still pointing at my hair, "Why-why is your hair!!"

"My hair?" I said, touching my hair, "What's wrong with my hair?"

"It's…. it's _PINK_!" Naruto yelled.

My eyes widened in horror and I grabbed a chunk of my hair and pulled it as far as it could go so I could see it. I gasped in horror as he was right. And it wasn't the nice light shade like Sakura's, it was hot pink. Like, caesura inducing blinding pink!

My eyes narrowed as I slowly turned to someone who was a few yards away, smirking at me.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke smirked as he remembered the accounts of last night…

_Sasuke watched them go with an unperturbed expression on his stone face. Naruto was walking at a pretty fast speed, as if trying to put as much distance between Sasuke and himself. He was also hunched over, obviously trying to conceal the massive about of food that he had snatched from Sasuke's kitchen. Konohamaru was trying to pull himself out of Grace's grasp, while Grace kept trying to pull him in the other direction. He sighed. Sometimes, although he would never admit it, he was sometimes jealous of them. Naruto had… his ramen, and Grace and Konohamaru had each other…_

_Who did he have?_

_He shook his head, reprimanding himself for such foolish talk. He walked into his house and sighed an exasperated sigh as he surveyed his kitchen. It was a mess, complements to Naruto's scavenging skills and Grace's 'Naruto-I'll-beat-the-shit-out-of-you-if-you-don't-stop-pissing-me-off' skills. He quickly went to work on cleaning it up, putting everything neatly back to order. As he walked to the stairs, he looked back, and felt slightly contented as everything looked the way as it was before they came. _

_  
Well, not quite._

_He forced himself to walk up the stairs. He would scrub the floor later. He walked to his room and walked in. What was Grace doing in here? And how did Naruto and Konohamaru know to come here? Did they set up a trap? He froze and glanced around. Front, back, left, right, up and down. Not as far as he could see. Grace was not the kind of girl to stalk someone. Ino? Sakura? Yup, those were. That Hyuuga girl? Nope, she would stalk Naruto. In fact, he thought, amused, he had seen on many occasions her actually stalking Naruto. Naruto was so clueless he didn't even really know her name. What and idiot, he thought._

_No… Grace wouldn't be here to spy on him… or to wait till he got there for anything… he walked to his dresser and opened one of the drawers, ready to pull out his sleeping cloths when he froze. He stared, not knowing exactly what to think at the rumpled clothing in his drawer. Had she…? He shook his head. No, he had already decided that she wasn't that kind of girl. Maybe she did set a trap? He would have to be careful from now on. He pulled out his sweat pants and laid them on the bed, and then walked over to the bathroom._

_After turning on the shower, he saw something strange in the shampoo bottle…_

_Sasuke had an annoyed yet amused expression on his face. Pink hair dye? Couldn't they be more creative than that? What did they think? That he was some normal person? He was a ninja don't they think he would catch something like this? _

_His hand tightened around the bottle of shampoo and he smirked. _

_Maybe he'll have some fun of his own._

_The Hokage's mansion was nicer than his own, but he still liked his house better. Well, at least the floor was clean here… He walked down the hall, knowing full and well that the Hokage knew he was there. The ANBU guards outside let him in as soon as he told them what he was doing. He past one of the many living rooms and stopped, shocked. There was Naruto, draped over a couch with a bit of plastic hanging out of his mouth. Sasuke's eyes traveled to the door beyond Naruto and noticed with disdain that it looked like it was blasted open. Sheesh, he thought, Naruto is such a klutz._

_Which room is Grace's? _

_He reached a door that had a, "L-Grace's, DON'T ENTER!" sign on it. Beneath the letters was an intricate stick figure scene on Grace massacring in several ways a chopped in half stick figure of… he frowned, himself. He felt depressed that he could recognize himself from the overdone hair that she put on the stick figure. Oh well._

_He walked into her room and paused, then walked over to her bed. She looked so peaceful, when she was asleep, not at all like the bitchy loud person she was when she was awake. He turned and walked into the bathroom. He open the curtain and reached for the shampoo, ready to pour what was in his own shampoo into hers, when he noticed that she had the same shampoo as him._

_She has the same shampoo and conditioner as him? He thought in bewilderment, well, he smirked, this makes everything easier. He merely switched the bottles, happy that she had the same shampoo. He stopped as he reached the door of her room, and slowly turned to her. His eyes twitched. _

_She was talking in her sleep. He sighed in relief, but also irritation. He was worried for a second there that she had woken up, but thankfully she was still fast, fast, fast asleep. Jeesh, he thought, can nothing wake that girl? _

_He reached for the handle and let her room._

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I couldn't believe it. I tried, believe me; I tried, to keep hold of my emotions. But my hair was PINK!

Pink…

…pink…pink…

…pink…pink…pink…

Pink…

I don't mind pink as a color (I hate this shade, that's why I made Naruto pick it out) but I hate it as hair!

"Well," Sakura said, "look on the bright side! You and me can be twins now!"

I slowly turned my head towards her, my eyes glinting. She gulped and took a step back, "It's not permanent, is it?"

"It better not be." I said. "Sasuke…"

"What is the matter?" he said, "oh, I'm sorry that I can no longer call you a dumb blond, but at least you can be a _dumb pink princess_."

I clenched my fists, "Sasuke…" I said again, "I'm. Going. To. Kill. You."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Thanks for reading! This chapter is still short but I got tired of writing this scenario. The next chapter will clear things up and then there will be a new theme (not 'Sasuke/pink hair scheme, but something different, yet probably just as funny). I hoped that you enjoyed this installment… I enjoyed writing it, although I'm not sure it makes sense.

I personally can't wait till TIME MOVES ON to the Chunin exams, because that's when she'll meet all the characters and the plot starts and all that complicated stuff… speaking of which I need to read all those chapters and refresh my memory…

Anyway, thanks for reading this far,

I luv you always,

- fUnKyToEs


	11. Chapter 11

I ran my hands through my short pink hair

**TITLE:** Truthspeaker

**  
AUTHOR: **fUnKyToEs

**CHAPTER: **Chapter Eleven or _The chapter… in which I can't figure out what it's about…_

**WORDS: **4, 619(finally, a decent amount.)**  
**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**REVIEWS:**

**Matte Gloss: **Yeah… I'm not sure how I remembered to have her mess up her name on the sign… It just sort of came out when I was writing it but it makes sense, seeing that was back when she wasn't used to "Grace" being her name… thanks for reading and reviewing! Oh, by the way, what's the meaning hidden behind your new name? Just curious…

**Inscape.peril: **I don't need your permission to kill Sasuke… _but_ you need _my_ permission to kill me, just remember that…

**Valinor's Twilight: **Yeah, I was writing it, and I realized that Sasuke would never fall for something that pitiful… and I never realized how they having the same shampoo would come in useful! I just put it in there to show how they are actually sort of similar (which is why they can't stand each other )

**MustBeEmo: **Thank you for reading my story! I love you! ! You accidentally dyed your hair pink? I feel so bad for you! What color were you intending to make it? Anyway, thanks for reading my story!**  
**

**DE BLAH DE BLA:**

This is the last chapter in the 'filler arc' between Grace arriving in Konoha and the Chunin exams. The next chapter will begin right smack where the Chunin exams begin, so be prepared! Just to warn you, though, it might take a while because I have to re-read all of those chapters to make sure I don't get anything wrong and to refresh my memory, but I should stay on track… those chapters, however, I will need you faithful readers and reviewers to keep me in line (because I'm afraid I might make the story too OOCish… and I really don't want that) anyway, thank you for reading so far! I luv you all! I shall make you my famous chocolate chip cookies as a thank you!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I ran my hands through my short pink hair. I couldn't stand it… why ME?! I mean, what did I do to deserve this? Had it been a nice dark pink, or even a lighter shade like Sakura's… that would have been bearable, but this was hot neon pink! I couldn't live like this! I sighed and my head sank onto the make up table in my room. Yes, I have a make up table but so far all it's been used for is self pity, and for dramatic effect… Like all those princesses—I'm getting off track.

"Who's there?" I asked as someone from the other side of the door began knocking.

"It's just Naruto!" He called through, "Can I come in?"

It was early in the morning, and normally I'm not even awake this early but I couldn't sleep. "Sure," I grunted. Naruto opened the door and Konohamaru came in, careful to keep Naruto between myself and himself. What a little scared-y-cat! Whatever… "What do you guys want?" I asked.

"Are you ok?" Naruto asked, concerned. He sat down on the bed, "I mean, you've locked yourself up since yesterday," he gulped remembering the events of the previous slightly emotionally scarring day, "And you are just sitting at that mirror/table thing." He had a concerned look on his face, "I mean… it's just—"

"Were you, by any chance," I said, my eyes sharpening with sudden glints, "Suggesting that it's 'just hair'?"

He gulped.

Wait a sec… what am I talking about? IT'S JUST HAIR YOU SILLY PERSON! Oh god, I've starting talking to myself! I'm as bad as Sakura! My head sank into my hands.

"Hey there," Konohamaru said, resting a hand on my shoulder, "Maybe you could dye it again?"

"No, that's impossible—hey!" I said, sitting up excitedly, "Maybe I could dye it again!"

Konohamaru turned and gave Naruto a confused look.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So," I said, placing my hands on my hips, "This is the convenience store, huh?"

"Yup," Konohmaru said.

"HONORABLE GRANDSON!"

The three of us cringed as the paranoid Ebisu landed in front of us, "In case you haven't forgotten, Konohamaru, but today is the day in which you train with me!" He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "Unfortunately, Grace here can't practice with us…"

I retaliated with disgust and Naruto yelled, "You sick pervert!"

"That's not what I meant!" he shouted back at Naruto, and, if possible, pushed his glassess further up the bridge of his nose. I stared at them for a moment, and then sighed, exasperated. I mean… it's so unfair that I always have to be stuck with such immature little brats! They're all the same, really, and I think that it should all stop SOMETIME! I took a deep breath.

"So…" I said, turning to Konohamaru and Ebisu, "I guess this is goodbye, and I'll see you," I pointed to Konohamaru, "tonight." I turned to Naruto, "And don't you have a mission you need to get to?"

"CRAP!" Naruto yelped, and he scurried around and whizzed out of sight.

"Thank _god_!" I muttered to myself as they all left. The last I want to be with me while I pick out something so personal are the loudest people in the world… I heard shouting of something loud and enthusiastic behind me a ways off, but chose to ignore it. Right now I was trying (in my stupid dumb blonde sort of way) what the title of the store was. I should have given up minutes ago seeing as I can't read to save me life but…. Too late to turn back. The saddest thing is if I had just walked through those doors, so much would have happened differently. So much could have just been the same as the original story, and I would…

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"HEY! WAIT UP!" Naruto yelled as he ran to catch up with Sasuke and Sakura.

Sakura sighed, "Well, it doesn't really matter since Kakashi-sensei isn't here yet!"

"What?!" Naruto said, "That lazy old bum isn't here yet?"

"Here!" Kakashi sang out from behind them. They all cringed and shrunk away from him.

"So!" Naruto said, "What's our mission today? Huh—huh!! Are we guarding a princess—no! We defending a whole nation, right—right Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto clasped his hands together and laughed that crazy excited laugh he always does when he overreacts.

"Hold it," Kakashi said, raising a hand to silence him, "We're just walking dogs so far."

Naruto sunk to the ground, "That's it?" He whined, "I thought it would be something exciting…"

"Come to think of it," Sakura said, turning to Naruto, "What exactly were you doing that made you so late? You're never late!"

"I was with Grace," Naruto explained, "She's really upset," he glared at Sasuke, "And I think _you_ should apologize."

"Why should I apologize," Sasuke said, snootily, "She's the one stupid enough to fall for such a pitiful prank that she herself came up with."

"You didn't seem so happy when she found out you did it," Naruto sneered, "By the way, how's your—"

"Aren't we supposed to be on a mission?" Sasuke interrupted, briskly walking off in a random direction.

"Sasuke, wait up!" Sakura called out, running to catch up with Sasuke.

"Well," Kakashi said, picking up his book and flipping to where he left off, "I guess it's time to go." He, at a much slower pace, too followed after them. Naruto watched Sasuke go with an evil grin on his face. Sasuke was still upset about yesterday? Man, this was great! Naruto began walking after them, for Sasuke to be so mad or upset or embarrassed that he would avoid the subject at all cost… that's deferentially something!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I just stood there like an idiot, not caring or even wanting to turn around to see who it was spouting poetry behind me. Had I _just_ walked through those damn doors…

I would have been able to miss _him_.

That's right, the all powerful, wonderful _Rock Lee_.

"You're hair is like the most beautiful cherry blossom, your skin ivory, your eyes—"

It took me a moment to realize that the babbling idiot behind me was actually speaking to me. I turned around in surprise. I totally didn't expect to see Lee here of all places. Man, this was so exiting! Rock Lee is one of my favorite characters!

"—your eyes are like the deepest shade of emeralds!" Lee pronounced proudly.

"Actually they're browner than green, but whatever," I said, "Wait a sec… why are you talking that way?" I raised an eyebrow, was he hitting on me? This was too funny.

"No!" he said, "I am pronouncing my love!"

I stared at him. He did not say what I thought he just said! Good god, I thought I was going crazy there for a moment! I thought I just heard Rock Lee pronounce his love for me! I think my sides are going to split.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" I laughed, not being able to catch my breath. I collapsed onto my knees, still laughing my ass off. Literally, it was starting to hurt.

"This is no laughing manner!" Lee said, fire jumping into his eyes and he clenched his fist, "Please be my girlfriend!"

I stopped laughing abruptly. "Did you—no way… You're supposed to ask Sakura out!" I shouted at him, standing up to point in his face.

"Who's Sakura?" He asked, confused.

Damn it all… I forgot he hasn't met Sakura yet! Sigh… oh well, when he meets Sakura everything will go back to normal and he'll become obsessed about her just like in the book. Not that I'm complaining, I mean, I'd rather make out with Sasuke than have Lee like me. No, Lee is just at the insecure age when he asks every girl he sees out.

Wait a sec… No he's not! Damn it! This can't be for real! He's supposed to ask Sakura out!

"What is your answer?" He asked, "You've been staring into space."

"Oh," I said, snapping back into reality, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't be your girlfriend."

"Why not?" Lee said, a heart broken expression on his face, "I love you!"

"What's my _name_?" I asked dryly.

Lee opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. He opened his mouth again and closed it. This happened a few times, making him look like a bushy browed fish.

"Thought so," I said, turning around and entering the store. And now to find some hair dye… I walked to an isle that looked like what I wanted.

My eyes skimmed the shelf, looking for the color I wanted. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted, but I wanted something dark. Not so I would be emo or goth, just that my hair color before was so much lighter that I want something different. Should I go with black or dark purple?

"I think dark purple," I said out loud to myself, grinning.

"How about this?" Lee said, from right next to me, lifting a box up to my face.

"Oh," I said, taking it, "Thanks…" I took it from him and examined the color. Then my head snapped to Lee's. "What the hell!" I yelled, taking a few step back from him, "how did you sneak up on me like that!"

"Sneak up on you!?" He said a horrified expression on his face, "I was merely observing your beautiful face!"

My eyebrow twitched. "You're a stalker." I decided. "And the sad thing is you'd be very good at it…" I sighed and glanced down at the box. It was indeed a very beautiful color…Purple (HTML/CSS color) is the exact name of the shade, whatever that means. It was a really dark reddish purple… I liked it. "Thanks, Lee," I said, "This is the perfect!"

Tears welded up in Lee's eyes, "You know my name!" he proclaimed, and he grasped my hands, "We shall go together into the sunrise of youth and—"

"Hold one second!" I said, pulling my hands out of his, "I'm not your girlfriend, remember?" I glared at him. Why couldn't this guy get the message? Sheesh, he's as thick sculled as… every other guy on the planet!

"I will never give up!" he said, grabbing my hands again, "Because in the spring time of youth—"

"Guys give up!" I finished, pulling my hands out of his again, "And leave the poor girls alone! You don't even know what my name is!"

"What's your name, my beloved?" Lee asked, grasping my hand again.

"Grace—No!" I shouted, covering my mouth with both hands, "No it's not my name!" I shouted at Lee.

"Grace!" Lee said to himself, raising his eyes to the heavens, "Oh, springtime of youth," he said, his voice getting proceeding louder, "I pronounce that THE NAME OF MY MOST BELOVED—"

I glanced around; people were starting to give us strange looks.

"—IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, THE COURAGOUSE, THE MOST YOUTHFUL GIRL I HAVE EVER SEEN, AND HER NAME IS—"

"Shut up," I hissed, my face turning a slight shade of pink to match my hair as people stopped what they were doing to glance in through the windows and the door. I counted at least twenty.

"—GRACE!" he shouted happily, a then looked down at me. "Let us, with all of these wittiness's, show our love and passionate youth together with a kiss!"

I blanched. Was he serious? _Kiss him_? My first kiss is with _Rock Lee_? No! I shouted to myself as he leaned in, and, ignoring the clapping from our 'audience'. I screamed, putting my hand on his face and pushing him away. "I DON'T WANT TO KISS YOU!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, scrunching up my face as if that would prevent anything from happening.

Lee just stood there, with my hands still on his face.

The clapping slowly died into an awkward silence. Lee took my hands away from his face and looked at me, long and hard. "I see." He said, softly.

How unlike him! I thought, relief pouring through me, to just give up like that! I was so relieved that I felt weak. I don't know if I could stand it any longer…. The silence that is…

"I understand!" he shouted suddenly, making me and the people around me jump in surprise, "You are careful of your feelings! DO NOT WORRY, MY LOVE!" he yelled, in that heroic voice of his, "I SHALL WAIT UNTILL YOU CAN GIVE YOUR YOUTHFUL KISS TO ME!"

The clapping resumed.

I just stared at him. This guy… HE DOESN'T GIVE UP! And for once, I find that a bad thing! I couldn't stand it! This was so unfair! When was Naruto when I needed him? Then again, neither Naruto nor Sasuke would be much help seeing as Lee was able to better them later on… sheesh, I totally made friends with the wrong people.

"Fine," I snapped, "Whatever, I really don't care."

Lee's eyes lit up.

"But I'm not your girlfriend!" I shouted.

His eyes fell in disappointment. "Why?" he said in such an agonized voice that I felt bad suddenly. Was I too harsh?

"It's nothing personal!" I said, in a soft voice. Yeah right, it's all personal! "It's just that I'm not ready for a relationship!"

His eyes lit up again. "I see!" he said, "Then I shall wait!"

"Good!" I said, and you better wait a loooooong time! I thought dryly, because I'll _never_ be ready for you. I grinned at him and walked up to the counter and laid the dark purple dye on the counter. "I'd like to buy this, please."

"Ten thousand yen." The man said from his newspaper.

Ten thousand yen… I muttered in my brain. I knew it wasn't that much, it was just that… I didn't know what kind of currency it was, or what the symbols on these bills meant, so I had no idea how much to pay him! "Um…" I said, "I don't think I know…"

"I'll pay for you!" Lee said from behind me.

"Why do you keep _following_ me?" I cried.

Lee handed the man the money and then picked up the box of dye, taking my arm and leading me into the blinding sunlight. The sun hated me, right now, I knew it. "Ok," I said, "Thanks for buying the dye, and now," I said, "Will you _please_ just go?"

"You want me to go?" he asked. "What about our adventure in the spring time of youth?"

"Don't you have a _mission_ to be on?" I asked.

"I have the day off!"

"Don't you have anyone else to annoy? Friends… family… poisonous reptiles?" I asked dryly. I was getting _really_ irritated that my one day off had to be… so off… "Lee, please just leave me alone!"

"But—"

"No!" I said, an idea striking my head, "How about let's not see each other till the Chunin exams!" that'll settle things up!

"When are the Chunin exams?" he asked.

"Ah—" Darn, forget he didn't know such things as I did… "Um, who knows? But let's see this as a challenge in the spring time of youth! To repress our love until then? And see how strong it is?" I said, faking a smile.

"Why, Grace!" he said, "That is a perfect idea!" he raced off into the distance, "Goodbye until then my beloved!"

I sighed with relief again. I can _totally_ wait until the Chunin exams! I sighed yet again, this time with exasperation; I just set myself up for hell for the Chunin exams…

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Today was the eighth of May… my birthday was in twenty days… I was turning sixteen in twenty days… I smiled at myself through the mirror. I have to say, I actually like this hade of purple! I rested my chin on my hands. "This is exciting!" I said, "I wonder what I'll do for my sweet sixteen?"

"Nice hair!" Konohamaru commented as he walked through the door.

"Oh, hi Konohamaru!" I said, "How was your day with Ebisu?"

Konohamaru's shoulder's sagged, "It was as bad as ever. I'm so happy it's over now. You seem like you're in a good mood, Grace, you like the new color?"

"Yeah…" I said, turning to look at myself. "Hey, Konohamaru, what do you think we should to tomorrow?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, we should do more stuff more often. You go to the academy in twenty-six days, on May twenty fourth, so we should get prepared for that… but other than that we have nothing else to do." I said, "Why not just—"

"Hold on, Grace!" Konohamaru said, "Why not just relax? I'm beat!"

"Now you are." I said, "But later, you won't be!"

Konohamaru cried out in fear as he ran to his bedroom.

I snickered.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Konohamaru was much easier once he attended the Academy, I decided. It has been five days since he's been attending it, and that gives me a few hours in the morning during the week days to myself, and then Ebisu has Konohamaru most weekends, and I just have to make sure that Konohamaru gets to school on time and pick him up.

DID I SAY IT WAS EASY? Waking that kid up and forcing him to get ready for school is like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles! Razor sharp magnetic ones that dig into your flesh…

I have just gotten back from a teacher/parent conference (since the Hokage is one of the people on the board he needed someone to represent Konohamaru, and I was the most suitable person) and I was _tired_! Yeah, it was only six at night but those meetings are _boring_! I have a new found respect for my parents…

I stopped abruptly.

My hands slowly were brought up to my mouth. I couldn't believe what just happened. I just… I forget about them! I forgot about everyone! I sat down roughly in the middle of the road. I can't believe I forgot about my family!

I just sat there, staring at the dirt in absolute shock. I can't believe that I would do something like that! And my family is the most important thing to me! I'm such a selfish person; all I've been thinking about is myself… I haven't even had time to think what other people think, just that I'm this cool person who managed to get into the world of Naruto. And so far, I realized, everything has been fun and games… but that's only because nothing's happened… what'll happen with Orochomaru attacks the village? And all that other stuff happens? What'll happen when the Third Hokage dies? I forgot how many people die in the real world, and that's what this is. I'm not just sitting in front of a book or computer, safe, I'm right in the danger of it all. I felt my throat close up, I might _die_.

And another thing I forgot… I forgot all about Sasuke leaving the village. I clutched at my hair, for some reason, I just seemed to forget because this is before he meets Orochomaru. Don't get me wrong, the little emo brat annoys the hell out of me, but I would still consider him as a friend and I wouldn't want anything to happen to him. I do care about him… I clenched my fist; I'll have to make sure Sasuke doesn't get in contact with Orochamru. I didn't know how I was going to do that, but I decided that I would just have to find a way.

I stood up, thankful suddenly that no crazy wagon or horse had come my way, and continued walking home. The third Hokage was probably home by now, and Konohamaru had been babysat by Sakura (you can't imagine how upset he was by that) so I got a free night off. Well, if you call sitting in a really boring meeting while the Third and the other teachers talk about—

I stopped again. I totally just had a dumb blonde moment, and the sad thing is it sort of has been that way for twenty days. That's right, I'm… sixteen… I felt like I was going to collapse. I couldn't believe that I forgot about my birthday! I reached for the handle and pulled the front door open. It's not like I expected some big celebration or—

"SURPRISE!"

I was surprised. I was so surprised that I landed on my ass at the front door. There were people inside, all decked up, and they were… throwing a surprise party for me?

The third Hokage, Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, Konohamaru, Iruka (why?), Ibiki (_WHY_?) were all there. I don't really know anyone else, so it doesn't make sense that anyone else would arrive.

"HA HA you landed on your butt!" Naruto snickered, pointing at me.

I narrowed my eyes, standing up, "Well, you guys—hey, you guys aren't wearing your ninja outfits!" I was soooo happy! I always wondered what they would wear if they weren't wearing their ninja gear. Because I was so enthralled and captivated by it all, I shall explain.

The third Hokage is wearing what he always wears, so you don't have to worry about him.

Kakashi was wearing jeans and a dark green sweat shirt, and was reading his book off in the corner… unsociable little bug.

Sasuke was wearing black jeans and a black teeshirt… what an emo kid! But he does look kind of… I slapped my face, making Sasuke give me a weird look. No, you don't think of him that way! How strange, I haven't thought about Sasuke in that way since I first saw him… really is strange…. But just for the record, he does look hot. Ok, I said it, it doesn't mean I like him, just that—you know what? I'm going to shut up now.

So jeans seem to be on the menu since Naruto was wearing jeans and an orange sweat shirt… who would have known?

Sakura was wearing a really pretty pink dress… I'll have to ask where she got it, because I totally want one! Konohamaru was wearing… his normal clothing… that little lazy… oh well, I know what all his cloths look like anyway.

And I won't go into detail with the rest of the guests because I'm trying to ignore them. Iruka because he doesn't seem to like me (apparently I'm a bad example for Naruto, although how _that_ works out I'm not sure) and Ibiki… because he's a _Satist _(not that I have anything against satist, it's just that satist in particular that freaks me out). WHY THE HELL DID THEY INVITE HIM?

I don't see the logic in it at all…. Someone doesn't have a brain or is just plain _mean_.

I walked over to Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura.

"Hey, thanks for all this, but how did you know when my birthday was? I don't remember telling anyone…" I trailed off, trying to think when I might have told when my birthday was to someone.

"Oh," Sakura said, beaming up at me, "The Hokage told us. When you filled out the citizen papers, you had to put your date of birth on it, so he just looked it up."

My head swiveled around to look at the old man, who was currently talking to Ibiki. I'll have to speak to him later, I decided, since he seems to be the one to invite him. "Why is the sadist here?" I asked Kakashi.

Kakashi looked up from his book briefly, "Oh, the Hokage—"

"That old bat!" I snapped, "How dare he?! He knows my past with Ibiki!"

"Oh yes," Kakashi said, "You were interrogated by him, weren't you… sorry about that."

I glared at him, but he just ignored me. I have sudden new respect for Gai. How he deals with this guy is beyond me. "So…" I said, turning to face the kids, "Why are you wearing different clothes?"

Sakura and Sasuke gave us a weird look, "We don't wear those clothes all the time," Sakura said, "it's just that we have missions most days, so those are the cloths we wear most of the time."

"Well—I've just never seen Naruto without those clothes." I said.

Sakura gave Naruto a weird look. HA! "Naruto that's disgusting!" Sakura said.

While Sakura was reprimanding Naruto, I turned my evilly cruel glance on Sasuke. Sasuke was watching Ibiki, Iruka, Kakashi (he left because he _knew_ I was going to kick his ass), and the third Hokage having a very lively discussion. "So, Sasuke," I said, and his attention snapped to me, "How are you doing?" I sat next to him, "They drag you into coming?"

Sasuke looked away, and annoyed expression on his face. "No." he said, shortly.

I stopped. He came on his own? "You came on your own?" I asked, "Wow, I'm so impressed! Why?"

"Naruto persuaded me." He said.

"Oh." I said. So he didn't come on his own.

Well that's ok; I'd be creeped out if he came on his own. Now this awkward silence… this is annoying.

"LET THE DANCING BEGIN!" Naruto yelled as he and Naruto jumped into the large open space. So that's why they cleared the furniture out… The little brat! He knows I hate to dance… in front of people! Wait… he probably doesn't know… well, he'll know after tonight!

"Come, Sasuke!" Sakura squealed, grabbing Sasuke and pulling him to the dance floor, "let's dance!"

Sasuke had a really, really, really, really, really, really, really annoying expression on his face, and I just stood there, laughing at him.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Nice dancing," Sasuke snickered next to me as I sat, waiting for the cake. I glared at him. He was right… though. It wasn't that I wasn't good at dancing; it's just when someone (aka a little blond _freak_) pushes you to the dance floor how are you supposed to stay upright? And what happens when the person you crash into happens to be a cockatoo headed freak?

Ok, so I didn't crash into him, but if he hadn't been a ninja I would have.

"Thanks," I said, dryly, "you're too kind." Then I smiled bigger, "How are you feeling, by the way? You're pride still hurt?" I said in a baby voice.

His head snapped in my direction, his eyes glaring. "I thought we agreed never to speak of this again." He snapped.

People started singing happy birthday and our conversation was interrupted. "Happy birthday to you!" they same, "happy birthday to you!"

"YOU SMELL LIKE A MONKEY!" Naruto and Konohamaru yelled. I glared at them, but Sakura beat me to them, punching them both at the same time. Nice moves girl!

"Happy birthday to you!" they ended that dorky and corny song that always gets to my nerves. I forgot to make a wish… let's see… I blew the candles out, smiling.

I turned to Sasuke, in a quiet tone, "I know we did, but Naruto—hey Naruto!" I called out across the table. Sasuke's hand quickly covered my mouth, prevented me to use neither my nose nor my mouth."

"Shut up," Sasuke hissed.

"Mthsph…" I mumbled, trying to breath. I grasped at his hands and pulled them away from my mouth. "Sasuke, what are you trying to do? Kill me?"

"If it will keep you from talking, yes."

"Fine." I said.

"Fine." He said.

He started eating his slice of cake. Hey, he started eating before me! No fair… oh well, I ate some myself, it's pretty good! I grinned at everyone (Save a few of the adults, aka, all of them) and then settled back into my chair. So far, so good.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Haha you still don't know what happened to Sasuke! Neither do I… no! I take that back! I know what happens I'm just too exhausted to write it down… I'm so lazy… Anyway, I feel like I'm spending too much time in the introduction arc, and I need to speed up to the Chunin exams, so that's why I skipped so much time in this chapter. Besides, nothing would have happened, so it would have been boring. Next chapter will start at the same time as chapter 34 in the manga pre-time skip, so if you want to read it and refresh your memory, like I have to, go ahead. I still have to figure out when the Chunin exams start, I'm pretty sure it's June second…but I'll have to check up on that… well, thanks for reading this far! I'm so proud!

- fUnKyToEs

The one… with _toes_?


	12. The Chuunin Exams: Part 1

Naruto yawned as he sat up

**TITLE: **Truthspeaker

**AUTHOR: **fUnKyToEs

**CHAPTER: **Chapter twelve or _The Chunin Exams: Part 1_

**WORDS: **7, 359(Finally a decent amount… although I'm totally exhausted… I wrote all that in about five hours…all at once—I'm pooped!)

**REVIEWS:**

**Matte Gloss: **Yes… because, as you know, a lot of fanfiction has the girl having their own fanclub and thousands of boys (or at least all the main characters) "falling in love with her" And all that… and "Grace" is totally not that kind of girl… because she has to work to gain anything, which includes getting guys… because that's the sad, sad truth of life… but I thought it would be funny if Lee liked her because that's probably the last person she'd want to like her… haha… thanks for reading! (you didn't change your name! )

**Valinor's Twilight: **thank you!

**Dragoink: **Thank you! I'm so glad you like my story! And yes… I try to make it funny… don't know how well I succeed but… it's sad that I get more gleeful joy out of putting Grace in awkward situations… maybe because it makes me feel better about myself? (that's even sadder)….Thanks for reading!!

**DISCLAIMER IMPORTANT VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT: **

I cannot express enough that while I was writing this chapter, I realized that unless Grace greatly affected a character or scene, things would go exactly the same as the manga. Because Grace is sort of the 'fly on the wall' during all of this since she's so confused by it all, she doesn't really make herself heard all that much, and therefore doesn't affect people yet… which is why you'll notice that the characters will do and say the exact same things as the manga. I DO NOT CLAIM the 90 of the dialogue that is not mine. It is all Kishimoto-sensei's, and all I'm doing is trying to write realistically, so please don't be angry. The later the chapters go, however, the more different things will be because Grace affects them, but because Grace's hasn't had time yet, it's impossible for things to be too different.

Thank you.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto yawned as he sat up. He knew it was going to be a great day… from the sun rising, lighting his face to welcome the new day! He got up, had his healthy nutritious breakfast of ramen and milk, and then dashed out the door, ready for anything.

He ran through the streets of Konoha, till he reached a street where Sasuke and Sakura were waiting for him. "Good morning Sakura!" he called out to her.

"Oh, Naruto." She said.

He looked at Sasuke, and they glared at each other and then turned away, ignoring each other in a very obvious way. You know the kind of way in which you want them and everyone around them to know that you're annoying.

_First the wave country_, Sakura thought, _and then the incidents with Grace… these two are always finding excuses to bicker. They haven't really even talked since the birthday party, not that they socialized anyway… __**Kakashi-sensei hurry!**_

Three hours later…

"Oh," Kakashi said, appearing above them, "There you are, I'm sorry it took me so long but I got lost …"

"THAT'S A LIE!" Sakura and Naruto yelled in unison.

"Stop lying with a straight face!" Sakura yelled.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, "you're a failure as a ninja!"

Kakashi ignored them, "Anyway, today—"

"Today!" Naruto said, "Today I want to kick ass! I want a hard mission where I can show off my skills! I want something that'll be soooo exiting… and…" he drifted off into his imagination…

_Sasuke lay, panting for breath, bleeding from hundreds of wounds… he sat there, helpless against the thousands of enemy ninja advancing on him…_

_And BEHOLD! The great future HOKAGE NARUTO UZUMAKI arrives on the scene! He takes out a hundred ninja with this kunai, and uses a shuriken to slice through a hundred more! Within seconds, he defeats an entire army of ZOMBIE ninja! What an amazing man worthy of the Hokage name!! _

"_Pht," He said coolly to the helpless Sasuke behind him, "Can't you take care of yourself?"_

"—Something like that!" Naruto finished.

"Naruto!" Sakura called to him, "What are you doing? We do have a mission today!"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto said, running to catch up with them.

Later that day…

Sakura muttered complaints to herself as she helped drag Naruto by his arm. His arm was around her shoulder for support, which she was not giving willingly. Naruto breathed heavily, absolutely exhausted from the mission. "You push yourself too hard, Naruto," she said, "You have to go easier sometimes!"

"Pft," Sasuke said, coolly, "Can't you take care of yourself?"

Naruto's face twitched with anger. "DAMN YOU SASUKE!" he yelled furiously as Sasuke began (again, coolly) to walk away, ignoring the loud blond.

"If you don't calm down I'll _finish_ you right here right now!" Sakura yelled, aiming a punch at Naruto's head.

Kakashi sighed, "Their teamwork seems to be lacking lately…" he said to himself.

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto agreed, "And it's all Sasuke's fault! He's the all high and mighty one who's ruining our teamwork! He's always hogging the spotlight, the bastard!"

"That's you, you moron," Sasuke said, his back towards Naruto, "Come on, if you want to look good compared to me, then you'll just have to get stronger then me," he said, in a challenging tone, turning his head to face Naruto.

_Oh man…_ Sakura moaned in her head, _they're even worse than before!_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hi guys!" I called out, running to catch up with Team 7. "There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you—Huh? What's with all the high tension?" I stopped when I saw an almost visible line of tension between Sasuke and Naruto.

Sakura turned to me, a worried expression on her face, "They're… not getting along."

"What else is new?" I asked, and then I saw Kakashi look up suddenly, "Huh?" I said out loud, and looked up as well. I saw a large bird, a hawk or something, fly over. That's… "Kakashi, that's!" I said, pointing, "Does that signify that it's time for the—"

"Yes," Kakashi said, and then he turned to his team, "That's it for today, I have to go report this mission.

"I'm going home." Sasuke said.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked me.

"Oh _Sasuke_?!" Sakura called out, skipping to catch up with him. I ignored Naruto while waiting for this scene to unfold. I always thought this was one of the funniest things ever… wait a sec… if that bird meant that the Chunin exams were starting… that meant… that all the characters are here! And that means, I looked around, that we'll be meeting _them_ soon… "Why don't we…" Sakura continued, "Work on our teamwork, just the two of us?"

What a twisted girl! I thought to myself, that was without a doubt the creepiest thing ever!

"You're the same as Naruto." Sasuke said.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You're the same as Naruto." Sasuke said.

Sasuke felt like a large rock was being dropped onto her. Her inner self struggled to keep it from crushing her. _Same as Naruto? _She thought, _I… could that be true?_

"If you have the time to bother and flirt with me, why don't you go train and learn a jutsu or two." Sasuke said, in a cold voice, "Frankly, you're below Naruto." He turned and walked away.

The rock _Below Naruto_ expanded into something that was too big for her to carry. Inner Sakura screamed in horror as it collapsed over her. _He's right…_ she thought, _I always the least amount of work on a mission…_

"Hey!" She heard Grace yell at the top of her voice, "You jackass Sasuke! You don't say that to a girl!"

"Hey, Sakura!" Naruto said, running up to her, "Let's train together!"

"Hey!" Grace called out, obviously upset about being left behind.

Kakashi disappeared.

"Huh?" Naruto said, turning around to look where Kakashi was, then he said to himself, "he must be leaving to give me alone time with Sakura…"

"I'm here you know!" Grace called out again, "Stop acting like I don't exist!"

Naruto gave her a strange look, and said, "Well, I don't mind if you train with us." He grinned, "Ok, I won't lose to Sasuke! Let's train!"

Grace sighed.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I sighed. I hated being ignored. I know that Naruto likes Sakura and all, but this is just plain annoying… besides! Naruto and Hinata are supposed to be together! I grinned evilly; maybe I should play love matcher…

I glanced with surprise at a square box shuffling towards Naruto. That's… supposed to be a rock? I thought, oh, that's Konohamaru, Moegi and Undon! I knew Konohamaru said he was going to play with his classmates after school; I just never made the connection that it was going to be today.

"I can see you there!" Naruto yelled at it, "What kind of rock is square like that!" My words exactly, I agreed silently. I walked up to them.

"That's the man I view as my rival!" Konohamaru said, crossing his arms as he, Moegi and Undon appeared in puffs of smoke.

"_Man_?" I said, sarcastically, "What are you talking about Konohamaru?"

"Oh," he said, turning to her, "it's you Grace. What are you doing here?"

"I'm… bored." I said.

Konohamaru got a panicked look on his face, "you're not going to—never mind!" he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, giving me a scared look. He must be thinking back to the time when I got so bored I made him get dressed in a tutu and dance around… it was hilarious!

Not for him, of course.

I noticed that he was wearing glasses, "Konohamaru, what's with the glasses?" I knew this, it's just been such a long time that I forgot… remember, people, I only remember bits and pieces since I've read the pre-time skip a while ago… and I haven't even read that many after-time skip… man!

"We're copying Naruto!" Konohamaru said, proudly, "We bought them today!"

"Ahh…" Naruto said, putting his hands behind his head.

Is he trying to show off in front of Sakura? I asked myself. He was totally acting differently right now… probably because he's trying to show that he's this 'big grown up cool ninja!' what a dork!

"Hey!" Konohamaru said, pointing at him accusingly, "Why are you acting so indifferently towards us?"

"Konohamaru," I said, my eyebrow twitching "Do you even know what _indifferently_ means?"

They ignored me, "Will you play ninja with us?" Moegi asked him, her eyes hopeful and pleading.

"Sorry," Naruto said, "But I have training to do."

"What?!" they cried out, "But you promised!"

"Why would a ninja play ninja?" Sakura and I said in unison. We glanced at each other. We totally have the same mind set right now…

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sakura walked with slumped shoulders towards them.

"Hey, Sakura!" Konohamaru said, "What's the matter with _you_?"

_I'm below him?_ She thought unbelievingly.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"She looks like she wants to eat him alive…" Konohamaru said quietly to himself, then a light bulb went off in his head, "Hey, boss," he said, tugging on Naruto's sleeve, "Did Sakura become you…" he pointed his pinkie, signifying 'girlfriend'.

"Haha!" Naruto said, a blush creeping on his face. I grinned evilly, "You kids are quite observant!"

"WRONG!" Sakura screeched and screamed (not sure which one since my eardrums were blasted) and she punched Naruto so hard that I could actually see the blood spurting out of his nose like those actions movies! He was flung across the road, skidding on the ground till he crashed into the wall.

"Haha!' I said, pointing at him, "that's even funnier—oh my god!" I said, "Are you alright Naruto?" I asked, walking towards him, "Wow, I didn't realize how much damage that would cause the fence!"

"How dare you!" Konohamaru yelled at Sakura, "You ugly old bitch!"

"KONOHAMARU!" I yelled. Sakura cracked her knuckles and she and I punched Konohamaru from both directions on his head.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Thanks for the reports." Iruka said, taking the papers from Kakashi. They were in the ninja registration office, and there were plenty of ninja sitting on benches and couches, relaxing from a hard day of missions. "How's Naruto? How's his teamwork?"

"Good, I guess," Kakashi said, "He's gotten much stronger."

"Yeah," Iruka said, "I haven't really had much time to talk to him or hang out with him lately, and I hope he's doing ok."

"He has a rivalry with that Sasuke," Kakashi said, "And that keeps him on his toes."

"I'm not surprised," Iruka said, "Those two never did like each other."

"And now that Grace has arrived," Kakashi continued, "It's even worse between them."

"Really?" Iruka asked, intrigued, "Why?"

"You know, they're at the age when they start taking interest in girls…" Kakashi trailed off, "Anyway, Naruto's been getting stronger and stronger lately, and he's almost strong enough to beat the man he admires the most: you."

Iruka smiled.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

The two idiots lay there, gasping for air as they clutched their swollen heads. Sakura and I nodded at each other, and then Sakura stomped off.

"Konohamaru!" Undon said, "Are you alright?"

"_Sure_," I said, "He'll be alright."

"Damn…" Konohamaru said, rubbing his head, "That crazy bitch… I mean, take a look at that huge forehead? She's more alien than human!"

I didn't even have time to reprimand Konohamaru for using so many swear words as well as insulting Sakura. Naruto and I blanched as the last two sentences came out of Konohamaru's mouth.

I stepped aside as Sakura stopped walked, and slowly turned to face them. She broke into a run, aiming right for them. I was lucky enough to step aside otherwise I would have been caught in the crossfire.

I trotted after them, but as I turned the corner, my eyes widened as I saw Konohamaru hit something tall and dark. My eyes widened even further when I recognized the two people as Kankuro and Temari! Temari was a few inches shorter than me, and Kankuro only two or three inches shorter than me, but still, I was surprised on how much shorter they were. The people in Naruto (the show) are all so short! That or I'm just tall… I think I'm just tall.

"That hurt," Kankuro growled, glaring at the petrified Konohamaru on the ground.

"Konohamaru!" Naruto yelled.

Kankuro lifted Konohamaru up by the collar of his shirt, "That hurt you little piece of shit!"

"Don't," Temari warned, "We'll be yelled at later."

"Heh, heh," Sakura laughed nervously, "Sorry, I was sort of messing around…"

These people… I just never thought about when I'd get to meet the other characters… I'm not prepared for this! What'll I do? I felt so helpless as Konohamaru dangled from Kankuro's grasp.

"HEY!" Naruto yelled, "You FATTASS! LET GO OF KONOHAMARU!"

Kankuro gave Naruto a quizzical look, and I knew he was looking him over, analyzing him like a true ninja. I knew that I had to be careful, since these people aren't like the easy going fun Leaf ninja. These guys would seriously hurt me if I got on their bad side. I walked up to Naruto.

"Let's play a little before the boss comes," Kankuro said, shaking Konohamaru. Konohamaru spluttered as his throat contracted a little.

"You bastard!" Naruto yelled, sprinting towards Kankuro.

"Naruto!" I yelled, and grabbed him by his color. "Don't!"

Kankuro gave me a look of surprise, as if he just noticed me. I walked up to him, "Please let Konohamaru down, and he didn't mean you any harm." I was proud that my voice didn't waver, although towards the end it did a little.

"Doesn't matter," he said, ignoring me, "Leaf Genin are weak."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I have gathered you all together, as I'm sure you have come to realize, for a single purpose," Lord Hokage addressed the Jonin and a few Chunin in the room. "And that purpose should be obvious by those in this room."

"It's already time for that…" Kakashi said.

"The other villages have been reported to," Genma said through that senbon needle in his mouth, "There have been sightings of foreign Genin and Jonin in the village."

"When is it?" Kakashi asked.

"A week." The Hokage said, "I must consult a certain person, however."

He gave Ibiki and Kakashi a look. They knew who he was talking about.

"That's pretty soon," someone from the crowd commented.

"In seven days I'll announce that the Chunin exams will commence." The Hokage said. "And now, let's hear from the team leaders of the rookies, come forth!" he commanded. Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma stepped forth.

"Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma," The Hokage said, "Well? You know that once a certified Genin has completed at least eight missions he or she is qualified for the Chunin exams… are their any students you wish to nominate for the exam, starting with Kakashi."

_He really shouldn't have to ask,_ Iruka thought, _none of them are ready yet._

"The Kakashi led team seven, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha." Kakashi said, "I nominate all three for the exams."

_What?!_ Iruka thought, his eyes widening.

"The Kurenai led team eight," Kurenai said, "Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, I nomitate all three for the Chunin selection exam."

"The Asuma led team ten," Asuma said, "Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaki, I nominate all three for the Chunin exams."

"Interesting…" Lord Hokage mused, "All nine, that's rare."

"Wait a second!" Iruka said, stepping out of the crowd behind them, "Lord Hokage, if I may have a word!"

"What is it, Iruka?" the Hokage asked.

"I have had all of these students in Academy, and I can tell you that they aren't ready for the Chunin exams! They aren't strong enough! They'll be crushed!" Iruka clutched his fists.

"I became a Chunin when I was six years younger than Naruto," Kakashi said.

"But that's different!" Iruka said.

"They are always complaining," Kakashi said, "This will be good for them. You forget," he said, giving Iruka a cold look, "That these kids are no longer your students…

"They're my _soldiers_."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I just hate midgets." Kankuro growled, shaking Konohamaru again, "Especially the little rude ones… makes me want to _kill_ them."

Naruto, Sakura and I gulped. I didn't realize how dangerous these people are in real life.

"I'm not involved," Temari said, shaking her head.

"Excuse me!" I said, stepping forward again, "Let go of him, now!"

"And who says, bitch?" he snapped. Oh, he is _sooo_ dead!

"You bastard!" Naruto yelled, "I'm going to rip you to pieces!"

Kankuro ignored him, lifting his arm to punch Konohamaru, "After I deal with this one I'll take care of the other annoying midget."

"Konohamaru!" I yelled.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, starting to run forward.

Just as Kankuro's hand reached Konohamaru's hand, Kankuro swore, dropping Konohamaru and clutching his stinging hand. A rock bounced on the rock, rolling away. Everyone's attention swung to a certain cocky character sitting in a tree.

"What are you bastards doing in our village?" Sasuke asked, his eyes narrowed, tossing a rock in the air and catching it. He looked so cool there, observing us from up high.

"Sasuke!" Sakura squealed.

I saw a slight blush appear on Temari's face as she looked Sasuke up and down seductively. I _knew_ what was going through her head. Kankuro glared at him.

"Another bastard who pisses me off," Kankuro said, and boy, was he pissed! He clenched his fists.

"Just get lost." Sasuke said, smirking.

I was amazed at how much (being said and done) was going just like the manga! I wonder if it will stay this way… Sakura and the kids had hearts in their eyes at they cheered Sasuke on like little cheerleaders.

"Naruto, I believed in you!" Konohamaru said, with tears of betrayal running down his face.

He and Naruto had a little conversation in which Naruto tried to convince Konohamaru that he was indeed stronger than Sasuke and that he would have rescued him had Sasuke not appeared. But that wasn't he part I was paying attention to.

"You, punk!" Kankuro yelled, "Get down here! I hate show-offs like you the most!"

He swung his puppet off his shoulders.

"Kankuro!" Temari said, alarmed, "You're not going to use Kurasu _now_, are you?"

"Kankuro…" a voice said from no where, "Stop it."

Sasuke froze in alarm, and so did everyone else. I was the only one, besides Kankuro and Temari who recognized the voice. I felt shivers go up my spine. Gaara appeared, standing upside down on a branch right behind Sasuke. He's so stealthy, I breathed, I didn't even see him coming!

"You're an embarrassment to our village." He said in that deadly voice. "We didn't come here to fight like that…but losing like that to these Genin… pitiful."

"Listen, Gaara," Kankuro said, nervously, "They started it, I just—"

"Shut up…" Gaara said, glaring at Kankuro unblinkingly, "I'll _kill_ you."

Kankuro shook with unmistakable fear. Even I trembled. I never imaged he would be this frightening! "I—I'm sorry!" he said, backing up, "Really sorry!"

"I'm sorry too!" Temari said.

"Sorry to you guys," Gaara said, and yet, it didn't sound apologetic. He disappeared in a cloud of sand, and then reappeared next to Kankuro and Temari. "We got here to early, but we didn't come to play around."

"I know…" Kankuro trailed off.

"Let's go." Gaara said.

"Wait!" Sakura called out, "You guys are from the Hidden Sand village. You might have an alliance with the Leaf, but it is illegal for a shinobi to enter another village without legal permission. State your business, and depending on it, we might not be able to let you pass!"

Wow, I thought, I was impressed with that little schmeal.

"Talk about clueless," Temari said, "You guys are the ones who don't know anything."

"They're here for the Chunin selection exams." I said.

"Chunin selection exam?" Naruto asked, confused.

"The Chunin exam is when qualified Genin from the Sand, Leaf and other villages gather together to take a selection exam. This exam will determine which genin advance to the higher ranks, Chunin, and those that stay in the lower ranks, Genin." I said. "The reason we do it together is to improve the relationships between villages, and also—"

"Hey, Konohamaru, think I should enter in the exam?" Naruto asked Konohamaru excitedly.

"Hey!" I said, "Shut up and listen to me!"

"What's your name?" Temari asked, and I felt Gaara's eyes on me, "you aren't a ninja, or at least you aren't wearing you head protector, how do you know so much about the selection exams?"

Shit… forgot about that, "I'm not a ninja," I said, "I'm just well informed."

"How well informed?" Temari asked, warningly.

I paused, should I reveal that I know their names? No, that would cause too much alarm. "I have connections," I said, vaguely. "My name is Grace… Grace Witherspoon." It took a moment to remember what my last name was. "What's yours?"

"I'm Temari—"

I noticed that Gaara was glaring intently at me. His eyes were twitching as he looked at me. Kankuro and Temari noticed this and they gulped.

I suddenly realized what they were so afraid of. As I made eye contact with Gaara I felt my blood freeze. I couldn't move. His eyes… there were so much hate and blood thrust in them. I felt like I couldn't breathe… I had to get out of there! I had to get away from him! He'll kill me. I took a step back, my eyes widening in fear.

Sasuke appeared next to me, "What's your name?" he asked.

"Who, me?" Temari asked, grinning.

"No, the one with the gourd," Sasuke said, shortly.

"Gaara of the Desert." Gaara said, "I'm interested in you too… what's your name?"

"Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke said.

"I bet your just dying to find out what my name is!" Naruto yelled.

"I could care less." Gaara said, turning away, "let's go."

They walked away.

"Hmph." Sasuke said, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Hey," Naruto asked Konohamaru in the background, "Do I look weak?"

"Weaker than Sasuke, yeah," Konohamaru answered.

"SASUKE I WON'T LOSE TO YOU!" Naruto yelled.

They started walking away, but, with a sudden inspiration, I glanced up at the wall. Standing there were the three Sound Ninja. They looked surprised that I noticed them. I gave them a quizzical look, and then nodded in their direction. I then turned and ran to catch up with Naruto and Konohamaru.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hey, did you hear?" Lee asked excitedly as his team mate Tenten practiced, "I hear there's going to be a Chunin exam!" he paused, "This is a perfect chance to show off for Grace!"

Tenten rolled her eyes, "Who the hell is this Grace girl, anyway, you keep going on and on about her!" Tenten noticed with sudden interest that Neji got all rigid at the mention of Grace's name. _What with that?_ She thought, _does he know her as well?_

"And that's not all, all nine of this years rookies will be involved!" Lee continued.

"No way!" Tenten said, "It's probably some stubborn Jonin sensei's in competition or something."

"No, the rumor is that three of them are Kakashi Hataki's students!" Lee said.

"This is interesting…" Neji said.

"But in the end," Tenten said, throwing the kunai so it thudded into the bull's eye, "You have to feel sorry for them."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What's taking him so long!" I yelled, "Why the hell is your sensei so late!"

"Whoa," Naruto said, "You're not even the one going on the mission? Why are you waiting with us?"

"Because Konohamaru's at the Academy and I have nothing to do." I said.

"HEY HEY!" Sakura suddenly yelled, "How can that person be so late when he asked us to arrive early!"

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed whole heartedly, "Sakura's right!" he punched the air.

"What about the feelings of a girl who woke up late and didn't have time to finish blow drying her air?" Sakura yelled.

I gave her a strange look. This girl…

"YEAH!" Naruto yelled, "I overslept too! And I didn't have time to change my underwear or brush my teeth!"

Sakura and I retaliated from him, "Naruto!" I yelled, "That's disgusting!"

Sasuke had a really, really annoyed expression on his face. He was about five yards away from us on the bridge. Things have really been getting tense between him and Naruto…

"Good morning!" Kakashi said, cheerfully, "Sorry, I got lost on the road of life!"

"THAT'S THE LAMEST EXCUSE EVER!" I yelled, "You were just standing by the gravestone!"

His eyes widened in surprise.

Oh… forgot about that… "I mean… I mean you were probably just walking around in circles…" I said, laughing uneasily.

"Anyway," Kakashi said, appearing in front of them, "I know this is random but I nominated you guys for the Chunin exams." He handed them slips of paper, "You have to have these filled out these application and hand them in at room 301 at the Academy by four pm tomorrow."

"KAKAHI-SENSEI I LOVE YOU!" Naruto said, jumping on Kakashi, excitedly.

Kakashi pulled Naruto off of him, "This is just a nomination, however. You each can decide whether to participate."

He disappeared in a puff of smoke. He's smoky… I DIDN'T MEAN THAT!

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!" Naruto said, "This is great!"

Naruto's imagination:

_Sasuke is slumped in defeat on the second place seat as Naruto holds up the Chunin Cup proudly to a deafening applause. He smiles as the Hokage lifts his Hokage hat off of his old withered hat and places it on Naruto's._

"_You were always deserving of the title of Hokage, Great Naruto," the 3__rd__ would say, bowing, "you are the best Hokage the village has ever seen!"_

Naruto chuckled to himself.

I just stared at him. He has it sooooo wrong…

Sasuke began shaking, and at first I thought he was afraid, or cold, but then I saw the smile on his face, and I realized he was exited. That was weird…

The two guys walked ahead, but I noticed that Sakura slowed down, a worried look on her face. She looked at the application, and bit her lip. "Sakura…" I said, "Can I speak with you?"

She nodded. I sat down, and she sat down next to me. "It's about the Chunin exam…" I said, "I don't want you to enter if you don't want to… but I have to warn you."

"How did you know…?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"I just read you face," I said, making up an excuse. "But really… I know it's up to you, but are you really thinking about dong it or not?"

"I'm… I'm not sure…"

I frowned. "Sakura, you're a great ninja, and don't put yourself down. I know you have trouble keeping up with Naruto and Sasuke, but don't look at the Chunin exams as something that you'll either pass or fail. Look at it as something to test your strength, as something to see where you stand. It doesn't matter right now exactly where you are, but you'll get no where if you don't know where that is. Even if you don't pass the exam, you won't be the only one, and from there you can only get better. Take the exam to measure yourself to those around you, but most of all yourself. Don't be too hard on yourself, and don't be disappointed if you don't move up the ranks. Most people don't." I said as an afterthought. "I don't know much about ninja, but I do know about the Chunin exams. You'll do fine, Sakura."

She smiled at me, tears welling up in her eyes. Wow! I'm really good at speeches! "Thanks," she said, standing up, "I will do the Chunin exams, so that I can find out where I stand and move up from there!" she smiled at me and walked after the boys. I smiled after her. Well, I at least, for once, made a difference!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto and I ran up to where Sasuke and Sakura were waiting for us, in front of a store. I swear they meet in the strangest of places… I saw that Sakura had a worried unsure expression on her face, but I smiled at her and she risked a smile back.

"Ok, you guys ready?" I asked.

"Why are you here again?" Sakura asked, "Are you taking part in the—no, you're not a ninja… then what are you doing?"

"The Hokage told me to come… something about—never mind," I finished, "Anyway, I don't have to be there for a while, so I have some time to kill…"

We walked to the Academy. I couldn't believe how many Genin were hanging out! I didn't even realize that there were this many Genin in the world! I sighed… I'm soooo out of it toady… we walked into the building and I had to keep my mouth shut from gasping. There were even more ninja in here!

"Kill them before they multiply!" I said in an alien voice, and many people, to may satisfaction, gave me strange looks. Boy, I love creeping people out!

We walked to the third floor.

My shoulders slumped. There were even more people here! What was I going to do!? I felt like I was going to implode. We walked through the crowd to where I saw Neji, Tenten, and Lee getting their asses kicked by the two Jonin, or are they Chunin?, (who are pretending to be Genin). I sighed. "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura," I whispered, "This is a genjutsu, let's just go to the third floor now. It's really the second floor."

Their eyes widened in surprise as they realized I was right. Ha!

"How did you know?" Naruto whispered back, and even Sasuke watched me, curious.

"I—I told you before, didn't I? I just know some things."

Naruto and Sakura seemed to forgive that answer for the moment, but I saw Sasuke's cold eyes linger on me moment too long. We walked through the last few people till we were in plain sight of the brustle.

"Ha! You plan on taking the Chunin exam with that!?" one of the 'Genin' asked, sneering. "You should quit now!"

"You're just a kid!" the other one snickered.

"Please!" Tenten pleaded, "Just let us through!"

He back slapped her and people in the crowd jumped. I stood there, my eyes wide. I can't believe that bastard…. "Hey you, Kotetsu…" I said, and then I just realized that I had nothing to say, so I just said lamely, "Hi."

"Oh," Kotetsu said, "Grace…" he seemed at a loss for words, and then gave me a warning look. I nodded. From now on, I had to treat these two like they were Genin.

"Huh?" Naruto said, "You know these two?"

"We've met…" I said, trying to avoid the subject.

"Look," Kotetsu said, "The Chunin exam isn't easy, we have failed three times! You think runts like you can make it? We're just doing you a favor by thinning out the crowd! It takes skill to be a Chunin. A Chunin is often a team leader, if you fail, a comrade will die. You all up for that?" he glared at the silent kids.

"I agree." Sasuke said, stepping forward, "But you _will_ let me pass."

Wow, Sasuke's kind of cool…

"And you'll also remove the genjutsu from this floor." He continued. That brat, he totally stole that from me!

A mumble swept through the crowd.

"What's he talking about?"

"Isn't this the third floor?"

"So you noticed," Izumo said.

Sasuke smirked.

The sign reading 301 faded and was replaced with the sign 201, signifying that we were, in fact, on the second floor.

"Hm, not bad!" Kotetsu said, "But seeing it isn't enough!" He swung his leg quickly towards Sasuke's face. Sasuke saw it coming and twisted his body, preparing to do a round house side kick. I gasped in surprise as Lee appeared right between them, catching their feet so they didn't hit. I stared. Whoa… he's so much faster when you can see it actually happening! So cool!

Sasuke had a shocked and slightly pissed expression on his face. Serves him right. Lee forcefully let go of their legs, and breathed out the tension.

"Hey," Neji said, appearing next to him, "What happened to the plan? You're the one who said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves!"

But Lee wasn't paying attention. I felt my heart slow to a stop of horror. He was looking… right at me! I took a step back. Lee's face blushed so hard that he turned red. He pranced over to me, taking my hand and smiling at me. I just stared, my mouth open in shock. I forgot about me promising—what the hell have I _done_?!

"My beloved!" he said, "You waited, and now you are here! Now we can go on with our journey of love!" I tried to pull away, but he held on tighter, "I know you want to play hard to catch, but I caught you my little butterfly!"

I just continued to stare, awe struck. Not in an 'amazed' sort of way, but in a 'how could life sink so low' sort of way. Did I die and go to hell to be tortured in the cruelest way? Me thinks yes.

"Now, my beloved!" he said, and I became aware of people's eyes staring intently on us (store flashback, _not_ my most beloved memory), "And now, with all these witnesses, we can truly express—"

He was cut off by someone grabbing his hand and lifting it off of mine, pulling him away. Neji stepped between us. "Lee," he said, "You're holding up the people." Lee glared at Neji, but Neji just pushed him away. He turned to me, giving me a hard expression, and then turned away to follow Tenten and Lee away.

I stared after them. Did Neji actually save me? Maybe… _just_ _maybe_ I could forgive him.

Neji stopped, turning to look at Sasuke, "Hey you, what's your name?"

Naruto got a pissed off look on his face, clenching his fists. Not Sasuke again! Was probably along the lines of what he was thinking. "When you want to learn someone's name, give your own first." Sasuke said.

I was so amazed about how much is still the same! Dialogue that is. There goes Sasuke with his up the ass protocol. Wait… this is a first… whatever. "You're a rookie, right?" Neji asked, "How old are you?"

"I don't have to answer you," Sasuke said, turning away and walking down the hall. "Come on, Grace." I saw Tenten get a blush on her face as she watched him walk away…. Not _another_ fangirl! Soon the village will be swarming with them! I paled…

The kids in the room were already depleting. They started exiting as soon as Sasuke revealed that it was the second floor.

I didn't follow them, however, but stayed behind to look that the doors. I saw Kotetsu and Izumo looking out. Izumo grinned at me, and then they transformed back into their adult form. "See you later!" I called out, waving. They waved back. So weird… they are actually really nice guys! I ran to catch up with Sasuke and the rest, but they already disappeared. Oh well, I thought, disappointed, guess I miss the battle between Rock Lee and Sasuke. I don't really care, though, that is such an awkward battle… especially the special "moment" at the end with Gai and Lee… that's just plain creepy.

"Lee, what are you doing?" I heard Tenten ask Lee further down the hall.

"I'm checking something out." He said, and he disappeared.

I saw Tenten and Neji walk away. "HEY!" I yelled out, and they stopped in surprise. "Wait up!" I ran up to them. "I'm Grace, and you're Tenten, right?" I asked Tenten, holding out my hand.

She shook it, "Nice to meet you Grace… how did you know my name?"

"Ah—Lee mentioned it."

"Wait…" Tenten said, "So you really are Lee's girlfriend?"

I blanched, "NO! He just thinks I am… he never really asked me, just assumed." I turned to Neji, "Although I hate to admit it, I'd have to say thank you, for saving me."

"I wasn't doing it for you," Neji said, closing his eyes and walking away indifferently, "I was doing it so everyone wouldn't think our team was a bunch of losers."

"Good luck," I muttered, and then I smiled at Tenten apologetically, "Not you, your two team mates are both… beyond…. Well, they're crazy. Lee for obvious reasons, and Neji—well, he's just a plain pain in the ass."

"You know Neji?" Tenten asked, curious.

"Yeah," I said, "I met him when I first arrived in the village… he tutored me for a day in the arts of the Shinobi, but he gave up. It was a mission too, if you want that for blackmail."

"Gave up?"

"I sort of… exasperated him." I said, "He didn't have the patience level for me."

"What do you mean?"

"We just… got to each other's nerves… I can't stand him," I stated randomly. Well, ok, it isn't random, but whatever. "Oh!" I said, my heart racing, "I have a meeting to go to! See you at the exam!" I called out, waving. She waved back, an uncertain smile on her face.

I ran into the room, panting. "Sorry I'm late!" I called out, "I—had—"

"You should have just come with us," Kotetsu said, patting a seat between Izumo and him, "Hey, sit here."

I have him a warning look and then sat down.

"Now that Grace is here," The Hokage said, "I shall begin. You all will be proctors of the First Exam, which will start in exactly forty five minutes. Your job will be to test how well the students cheat at their work. The quiz that they will be taking is a written test, and the questions are far above any Genin, so they'll have to cheat. Any students who don't cheat will be disqualified unless they seem intelligent enough to complete the questions, in which they will not be disqualified. Any students that are obvious in their cheating will also be disqualified. Students who are disqualified also have their team disqualified, as this is a team test, as is the next." He gave them all a stern look. "You may be wondering what a girl with no ninja ability is doing here, but she is essential. Grace," he said, turning to me, "Do you mind if I explain your… ability?"

I looked wary, "The minimum explanation," I answered.

"Grace knows many things, about the past and the future. She knows what will happen, to a certain degree, and can help us. In the first exam, she'll know students that are cheating by knowing from seeing into the future what they did, however, things may change in which she is completely helpless. For now, however, she will be much help. Especially in the second exam. As you know," he gave a look to Anko, "The second exam is very difficult and dangerous, an that is why I'm sending Grace in with the students—"

"What?!" I said, sitting straight up in my chair, "Me? Go to the forest of death? I'm not a ninja! I can't do that!"

"How the hell does she know it takes place in the forest of death?" Anko asked, turning to give me a long look.

"Like I said she knows plenty of things," The Hokage said, "But you have nothing to fear, Grace, you should be fine. There are plenty of Chunin and Jonin surrounding the forest that'll arrive if they sense anything bad about to happen to you, and you shouldn't have trouble with the fellow ninja, since you aren't a threat, besides, you have plenty of friends that can stick around you."

"But!" I started, "Why _me_?"

"You are to report," he said, handing me a small black object, "to us everything that happens, as well as what is supposed to happen."

I took the pieces, and Kotetsu helped me attached on to my ear, and the other to the room of my mouth. That was awkward, but the moment passed. "Can I start now?" I asked. They nodded. "Well," I said, working my mouth awkwardly with the bug (meaning the listener chip) inside of it, "In the second exam… plenty of Genin die, but you'll expect that with the Leaf Genin… but that's not the worst."

"How is that not the worst?" A Jonin asked.

"I…" I took a deep breath. Should I tell them? It wasn't just that I felt like I should, but now it was my duty. If I told them that Orochomaru would attack, or show up during the second and third exam, they could prevent it and Sasuke would not get the seal mark… and then he would run away to Orochomaru's… I clenched my fists. I was almost scared of speaking his name. I imagined how horrifying seeing Orochomaru's face in reality, and I shuddered. "I…" I said again. I looked at the Hokage, and then at Anko, "The thing is…" I didn't know how to say it. "During the second exam," I said, "Orochomaru enters disguised as a student."

Gasps ran through the Chunin and Jonin, and I saw Anko's eyes widen in shock. Then I looked at the Hokage, "Then, during the third exam, Orochomaru attacks he village." I gave the Hokage the longest and deepest look I could give. That's when you die, I thought.

His eyes clouded, and he nodded gently. He understood. "That's impossible!" a Jonin said, "he can't—are you sure?"

I nodded, "However, don't quote me on all of this. What I know of the future is just one way things could turn out. Me being here could make things turn out differently."

"You mean when you look into the future right now, you're not in the second exam?" Izumo asked.

I shook my head, "No, so I being there will change things, but not… not about Orochomaru, I think."

"What will he look like?" one Jonin asked.

"I don't want—I don't want to talk about it." I said.

"Hey!" a Chunin yelled, "This is our village—"

"Quiet, Daikoko," The Hokage said, "You can not imagine what Grace is feeling right now. Thank you," he said, sincerely, "For telling us this so far. We will do all we can to protect you."

I nodded.

"Now," he said, "We shall start the preparations. "Grace," he said, turning to me, "You may go and catch up with Naruto and the others, best if they don't know you are one of the proctors."

I nodded, and let the room. As soon as I was behind the hall, I backed into a wall, sliding down it. It might seem like I was weak or something, or weird that it took so much for me to say what little I had to say… but when you know that all these horrible things are going to happen, it's so much easier to just ignore it and enjoy the here and now. It took…. So much to gather the courage to say all that… I felt exhausted. I took a deep breath. For now, I should just have fun. When I go get team seven, I'll get to meet all the other people, and that's what I've been waiting for all this time!

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I ran through the pillars, trying to find those damn short kids. "Oh!" I said, skidding to a halt, "There you are…" I trailed off. Sasuke had a really pissed off look. This must be right after the fight between Sasuke and Lee… good timing on my part.

"This thing is getting fun, this Chunin exam." He said, "Sakura, Naruto!" he said, smirking as he stood up taller, "Let's go!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Again, I can not clarify enough that MOST OF THE DIALOGUE IN THIS CHAPTER IS NOT MY OWN WORDING! I know it doesn't make sense, but the more that Grace affects people, the less like the manga the plot will become (not too much unalike) but for right now, because no one really knows her, everything is basically the way it would have been if she didn't exists and it was only the manga, which is why I do exact quoting… Only really things that interact with Grace are my doing, because those are the parts that Grace effect… SO DON'T FLAME ME FOR PLAGIARISM because I totally admit that most of the dialogue isn't mine, and therefore not my creation.

Thanks for reading!

- fUnKyToEs

I feel like I'm writing a book version of the manga… it's so exhausting… anyway, I hope I didn't offend people with the exact wording, and I hope you see the logic in it all.


	13. The Chuunin Exams: Part II

We walked down the hallway, and I blinked as we neared the door to the first exam room

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Chuunin Exams: Part II (Chapter 13)

WORDS: 5,319

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto nor most of the dialogue in this chapter… so sad I know… weeps

REVIEWERS:

_Pandastiacia_: ok, I'm assuming that you're the person that keeps changing their name… you're so confusing! my poor brainless head is aching! haha! You know that the more you guess the less likely I'm going to tell you her name?! I will give you a hint, thought, it starts with L and ends with Y. Does that help? I'm glad you like this part, it's exhausting to write and I feel like all I'm doing to writing the manga in book form… I hope that it's not too boring… also, if you review tell me what you think of the last two lines, I'm curious of whether or not Grace will go through with it. It will really change it if she does. Yes, Grace can be nice once in a while… shocking even to herself…it's sad that I can actually say that… I feel like Grace is a real person not a character I made up, because whenever I talk about her it's like "I think Grace would like that, but I think she'd prefer this…" ok, so you decided that 'panda' name theme? I love pandas! So cute and cuddly!!... I want one now… now…

_Dragoink: _Thank you! Sorry it took so long to update, busy times! Busy times…

_Valinor's Twilight:_ Thank you! You will see at the end of this chapter how much Grace might change it… Thanks for reading!

_Uzura-chan_: No! I GROVEL AT YOUR FEET! I've been so bad that I haven't updated in a while! Lot's of things have happened to me but I'm back on schedule! YAY! Thanks for reading! I give you my home made special chocolate chip cookies as an apology present! Laters!

_Outlaw-Lanaya:_ Thanks for reading!! Yeah, I'm not quite sure what will happen with Gaara but I have a basic plan…

_XXBlackfireXXI_: Thank you!! It was fun to write. I like the name Oreo… permission to use it in future chappies?

_Kitkatyobaril-chan:_ Holy Goodness! I like your name! I can't even pronounce it! Anyway, thanks for reading my story! I like your review: short and precise to the point. Please keep reading and reviewing!

RANDOM BLAH:

Sorry sorry sorry sorry SORRY!! I've been so bad but so many things have been happening! There was my last week of school and I was so stressed out with finals that I didn't even have time to think about Truthspeaker and then I had a two day wedding to go to not including the time spent traveling… and then my dog died, which was really hard for me because he was my best friend… and then I had to start work… and it's all been too much to handle so I just relaxed for a week and took time off to think. Now I'm back on schedule so you can expect a chapter within a week of the last one, guarantee! Please read and review and please forgive me for taking so much time!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

We walked down the hallway, and I blinked as we neared the door to the first exam room. Kakashi was leaning on it, reading that perverted book. I swear, the first thing I'm doing when I learn to read damn Japanese is read that book. I'm just curious what's so fascinating about porno. Actually… I always wondered why Kakashi didn't have a girlfriend… I mean, he reads porno all the time and he's obviously attractive… maybe he reads porno because he can't get a girlfriend… no, that's impossible. What's with these ninja!?

"Ah, so Sakura came too." Kakashi said, looking interested "Now we can officially start the exam."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. She had a quizzical expression on the face.

"Well," Kakashi said, closing his book with a snap. "The truth is that this exam takes the whole team, therefore, had you decided not to participate, team seven would not have been able to participate in the exams. I didn't want to tell you guys that right away because I didn't want you to be pressured by Sasuke or Naruto." He glanced at me, "Or anyone else."

I frowned at him. How the hell did he know? That creep… _that's_ why he doesn't have a girlfriend!

"But you said that the test taking was individual, why did you lie to us?" Naruto asked. He looked pissed, which is strange because he didn't even doubt himself… what a strange kid, that Naruto person… He doesn't grow out of it. He's one of those kids that don't grow out of being immature. He's one of those people with really bad ADHD. Oh my GOD! Naruto has ADHD!

"Like I said, I didn't want Sakura to be pressured." Kakashi put his book in his pouch. The one on his leg.

They were silent for a moment, and then Sakura said, startling me, "You knew, didn't you?!" she pointed at me, her eyes wide with shock, "That's why you convinced me to do the Chuunin exams!" I couldn't tell if she were angry or just confused. I hoped it was just the latter.

I grinned sheepishly, "Yeah… I did sort of know that." She smiled at me and breathed a sigh of relief. I'm not sure why I'm so relieved. I guess it's because… do I actually consider Sakura a friend? Good lord… I never knew… wow, I have a friend! That sounds very sad… doesn't it?

"Huh?" Naruto said, "How did _you_ know?" he pointed at me. Well, stop it little man!

"I'm well informed…" I said, giving Kakashi a desperate look. Why won't he help me out? That goon! That masked goon! That… I've already said that…

"Well," Kakashi said, "Looks like it's time for you guys to take the exam." Thank you… I'm happy not to be in the spotlight. Jeez… I really do have always having to make up fake stories. If it were as simple as just saying everything, I would totally do it, but this is a real world with complex problems. If I suddenly spouted out that 'you were going to die this way' nothing will happen the way that they happen… not that that's always a bad thing… it's just… I'm afraid of what will happen if I mess things up. Is that bad?

The kids smiled and walked past him, but I could see Sasuke giving me a curious look before disappearing through the doors. "YEAH!" Naruto yelled, "LET'S GO!" the door clicked behind them, and their voices were oddly dimmed.

"Grace…" Kakashi said, "Lord Hokage has informed me that you will be one of the proctors of the exam. He's also informed me about… your knowledge of things." He looked at me, "Can I test you on it?"

I frowned again, "Why do you want to know?"

Kakashi's eyes turned cold, "Someone who knows things like an enemy attacking the village? That's not something anyone should take lightly. I know that the Hokage trusts you, but I myself need verification."

My eyebrows furrowed. Normally, I'd be insulted if someone doubted my loyalty, but in this case… it _was_ Kakashi's job. "I'm sorry, but I should probably get in there, I don't want to miss… anything." I said. "I'll answer your questions during the preliminary exams for the third exam." I gave him a look, "I'd really like to, but there are things I have to take care of now."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "There are going to be a preliminary exam?" His voice sounded interested.

I blanched. "Forget I said that." I said, "Scratch that out. I'll talk to you later." I turned and walked towards the door, "Kakashi," I said, turning my head to look at him over my shoulder while the thought crossed my mind, "I want you to know, though, that I would never do something intentionally to hurt or harm this village unless I had reasons to."

His brow furrowed. He nodded. I knew that was probably a mistake, to say 'unless I had reasons to'. Why did I say that? Now he'll think I have reasons to betray the village… well, maybe one day I will. The point is I won't harm my friends.

I smiled, happy that that was confirmed, and then pushed the door open. I walked through, and saw that Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were conversing still at the entrance. I gaped at the massive amount of Genin in the room. The room was crowded with pissed off ninja and worried ninja and some, like Naruto, ecstatic. It was loud and I never thought while reading this how loud it would be. It's like thirty conversations going on at once, and even when that many people are whispering it's really loud, but these people had no respect for the people around them and were being as loud as possible. Naruto didn't help. I breathed a sigh of relief that nothing had really had happened. Like the other characters arriving. I was so happy! I've been waiting for this, but also dreading it… I mean, how do I act?

"Sasuke!" someone squealed as I saw a blond jump Sasuke. Sasuke grunted as Ino pulled his ear flirtatiously. "You're late!" she said, "I haven't seen you in a while and I've been waiting in excitement!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes and then rolled them, annoyed beyond belief.

"Get away from Sasuke INO-PIG!" Sakura yelled at Ino, pointing. Her face was really pissed. Yes… let's have a bitch fight! _Not_…

"Why if it isn't Sakura. Big ugly forehead as always…" Ino said, sticking out her tongue.

Ino… one of the few Naruto characters I actually can say I hate… she's so… _bitchy_… And I'm not just saying that because she's annoying… but because she is a bitch. Sorry for the language, she's just… obnoxious because she thinks she's top of the world. Her blue, blue eyes and long blond hair made me grimace with envy. My own hair, when not purple, was never long, silky or even that lovely _light_ shade of blond, unlike my natural shade. I didn't know what was wrong with Sasuke, I mean, there are a bunch of good looking girls and… he doesn't even pay attention. I mean, if there were a bunch of good looking guys after me all the time I'd be on cloud nine!

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Sakura yelled her hand closing into a fist. Ha.

"Who are _you_?" Ino asked suddenly, looking at me. Her eyes looked up and down me, and my eyes narrowed. Was she measuring me up? What was she comparing me to? Her? Why was she doing that? Does she think I'm competition? Well, bitch, you don't stand a chance against me! What am I saying? I've actually forgotten what I'm talking about…

"I'm Grace." I said, pointing at myself, putting on a smile. I'll be nice because it's my principle to be nice to people until they personally hurt me, and for the moment, Ino is just an acquaintance. Who knows, maybe I'll end up liking her and we'll be friends. It sort of worked for Sakura… And Sasuke…. Wait, am I suggesting Sasuke's my friend? AH!? "I'm a friend of Sakura, Naruto and… _Sasuke_." That last part was said reluctantly, I'll have you know.

Sasuke looked at me in surprise. Geez, at least we agree on something. We are not friends. No. Nope. Zero. Zip. Nada. Triple golden goose eggs.

"Well, _tough luck_," she said, her voice hitting that tone that evokes violence out of me, "_You_ can't have Sasuke, because he's _aaaaall_ _mine_!"

I frowned, my eyebrow twitching…. _That little bitch_…!

Wait… why am I getting so pissed? Yes! Torture Sasuke… it does piss me off though… why the hell does this piss me off? I paused to think for a moment…moment gone.

"You guys taking this stupid exam too?" a drawling voice said as two people entered our little circle of stupidity. "Just don't die…" Shikamaru said as he and Choji approached us.

"Oh, the idiot trio!" Naruto laughed at them, pointing in that strange position he always gets when he's making a statement. Why does he always point?

I snickered.

"Hey, don't call us that." Shikamaru said. He sighed, "Man, this sucks." He folded his arms.

"Hi!" I said, stepping forward and offering my hand, "I'm Grace, what are your names?"

"Shikamaru…" Shikamaru said half heartedly. He gave me a strange look. My eye twitched. What's his problem?

"I'm Choji!" Choji said, stuffing chips in his mouth while doing so. I frowned in disgust. I could actually _see_ his digestive system in process… gross. I took my hand away before he could shake it. I didn't know, nor want to know, what had been on those hands.

"Saassuukeee is miiinee!" Ino said in a sing song voice, sticking her tongue out at a really, really, really, really pissed Sakura. Man, I really don't want to be in the middle of that. Sasuke is on his _own_. The poor little bastard. I kind of feel bad for him, he's sort of being raped over there.

"YAHOO!" A loud and obnoxious voice yelled as some people approached, "Found you!"

My eyes lit up as I turned, as saw one of my favorite characters…

Akamaru!

"Hello…" Hinata mumbled as she, Kiba and Shino approached us as well.

"Well, well, everyone is assembled." Kiba said in a way that sort of made me irritated. It wasn't him; it was just that he thought the rookies where so important that they had to be there for the Chunin exams to start. It's like he's assuming that they are important. Well, plot wise yes, but rank? Nada. They are nothing. _Nothing_.

"Geez, you guys too?" Shikamaru grumbled, "This is such a drag." He rolls his eyes to the ceiling and frowning. Does he ever not frown? The only time I see him start to actually look like he's happy is after the time skip. I can't wait till then; too bad I have to wait two and a half years. Damn, why is fate so cruel? Why can't I just skip to the time where everyone is older and hot? Did I just say that out loud? No? Thank god…

"I see all nine of this years rookies are taking the exam." Kiba stated. Obviously doggie boy. "I wonder how far we will get, eh, Sasuke?" he smirked at Sasuke.

Sasuke smirked, "Pft, you sound confident, Kiba." Too bad he can't be very dignified looking with a 'hooker' practically trying to…. Anyway… He removed Ino. I hate being such a bitch about her, I'm just so used to those kind of girls at school back home it sucks having to deal with it here. Then again, this is the real world… welcome back, Grace.

"We've done a lot of training, we won't lose to you." Kiba said.

"HEY!" Naruto yelled, angrily pointing at Kiba, "What do you think we've been doing all this time!?" … he did that pose again… I covered my mouth to keep myself from laughing. He's such a dork and he doesn't even know it… I really want Hinata and him to get together… I _will_ get them together… jeez… I feel really bad for them. They have _me_ on their trails.

"S-s-sorry, Naruto," Hinata mumbled, apologetically. She blushed and clasped her hands, looking down at the ground. "K-Kiba didn't m-mean it li-like that…"

I blinked. Hinata… "Hinata!" I said, and I hopped over to her, throwing my arms around her, "It's nice to see you again!"

Her eyes widened in surprise and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks at the sudden attention she was getting form her peers. She probably doesn't even remember me, it's been so long. Actually, only a few weeks, but still, so long!

Speaking of people of the past, I'm just sooooo glad that Lee hasn't noticed me yet, although I'm sure that will change with Naruto's outburst that will occure… Damn it! I really need to prevent Naruto from making a scene! I might as well kill him… that's the only way to shut him up… but what if Lee notices? I glanced around, frantic. He's discussing something with his team… thank god. He hasn't noticed me. I saw his head start to turn and I ducked behind Kiba.

"Huh?" Naruto said, "You know Hinata? Huh? Why are you hiding behind Kiba, Grace?"

Hinata blushed even more. Aww… she's so cute! I suddenly felt determined. I will make Naruto see how great Hinata is! After the Chunin exams, though, I have too much things to do. "Me and Hinata go waaaay back." I said. "Right, Hinata?" I let her go and she mumbled something.

"And who are you?" Kiba asked, stepping forward and turning around, giving me a strange glance. I would too if someone ducked behind me and hid with their face in my back. Great, I'm such a dork.

I smiled at him, "My name is Grace, and… I'm a friend of these guys over there," I pointed at team seven, "What's your name?" Of course I know there names, but they don't know that. Act aloof…. Breezy, you can do that!

"I'm Kiba." Kiba said, "And this is Akamaru." Akamaru barked.

"I'm… Shino." Shino said from behind his cloak thing and dark glasses.

I shuddered as I thought briefly of him having… bugs inside of him. He's so creepy and mysterious looking… and he sounds it too. I mean, he might actually be attractive if it weren't for the bugs. You know? Like one of those mysterious sexy guys… but the bugs is a turn off. But then I looked up at the cute little puppy on Kiba's head. "How old is Akamaru?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, two years." Kiba said, glancing upwards at Akamaru. Akamaru barked again.

"Oh, cool." I said, "I have a puppy, not sure how old he is since he was sort of a street dog. I named him Bingly and he sort of found me, though. Wouldn't leave me alone till I let his stay with me…"

"Bingly?" Kiba said, "I've never heard of him." He frowned. "So, he made you keep him? And he's a stray?"

"Yeah…" I said, "He's sot of… he likes to go off and do his own thing. I think he might be a nin-dog because he understands everything you say. Like literally, he does understand everything I say, I feel like sometimes I have conversations with him, except for the fact I can't understand _him_."

"You're making that up," Naruto accused, "You just say that because you talk to him like he's a human."

I smacked his head, "Dogs are more intelligent that you are, Naruto. Although that doesn't account for much. Besides, he's bested you tons of times."

Naruto grunted. Luckily that last comment went right over his head, both of them, otherwise he would have made a louder ruckus.

"But now," I said, as the thought crossed my mind, "You should be more quiet."

"Took the words right out of my mouth."

I looked up in surprise. It was Kabuto. He really had that white blueish hair that was always so strange. He wore glasses, and it made me wonder again why exactly he does so, and why his eye turned red when it was taken off… But I was now in a difficult situation. Should I disqualify Kabuto? That might cause things to get complicated… and if I disqualify Orochomaru… that would really get things complicated. I'll just tell them (the other proctors to keep their eyes on them. I won't tell them who they are or they'll attack them, causing suspicion. I'll also tell them about the Sand ninja joining forces with the Sound…but later, too much to think about. I touched my ear, and satisfied to hear a little zipping noise.

"_Hey, Grace, how are you?" _A ninja's voice echoed from the piece in my ear. I startled, not quite expecting to hear it so clearly and… loudly. I glanced at everyone else, I hope that they don't hear it…

"Good," I mumbled, turning away from the bunch of kids, "I need to have you turn off the speaker though. Can you do that?"

"_You mean only have us hear you when you want us to? How will we know when or when not that is?"_

"I think I know how to turn it on," I whispered, "Just tap the upper left corner of the bug in my ear, right?"

"_How did you know?" _The voice was amused.

I rolled my eyes, "You told me, remember?" I don't know why I was stuck with this idiot… I really hate idiots… after all, I have to live with one. And the rest just turn up anyway.

The voice laughed,_ "Ok, I'm turning off your receivers."_ Thank you! I really dislike the idea of being spied on… you know, like I can have NO private conversations. I heard a slight buzzing noise as the receivers and bugs and such were turned off. It was majorly uncomfortable.

"You guys are just a bunch of rookies out of the academy, right? Well, this isn't a picnic. Look around you; you're starting to piss people off." Kabuto motioned around the room with his head.

We looked around, and low and behold, he was right.

"Well who asked you?!" Ino snapped. She's so annoying. Get off Sasuke little slut! Wait… didn't she already get off? I guess she got back on… little… I slapped my forehead. I forgot I'm supposed to hate Sasuke and enjoy his suffering. I can't believe I'm getting jealous… no! I literally slapped myself hard across the cheeks, causing strange looks to come my way, stop thinking those treacherous thoughts! Yes, make him as uncomfortable as possible!

"He's right," I said, "You guys are just rookies, so that alone will make people hate your guts and want to take you out, but making a scene like your all so important… that's even worse."

"What's your name?" Sakura asked. At first I was confused, was she talking to me? Nah, it was the tall gray haired TRAITOR! I just mentally slapped myself again for almost falling for his charming personality. I have to remember that he's a maniac, a crazy person, not to mention EVIL and works for the snake bastard. Maybe I should disqualify him… that's be good.

"Kabuto." He said.

"Is this your second round of the Chunin exams?" she asked.

"No…" he said, and then continued, in a regretful tone, "It's my… seventh."

"It's twice a year, right? So this is… fourth year?" I asked.

"Yeah." Kabuto said, giving me a curious look.

Shit, I need to keep a lower profile. Note to self, 'stop drawing attention to self'. That was intelligent.

"Wow," Sakura said, "So you know a lot about the exam."

"That's right." Kabuto said, smiling. Sure you do, sneaky little bastard… excuse the language… I apologize for my crude tongue I guess I just get carried away…

"Wow, that's impressive." Naruto said. "You really bad or something?" I smacked his head. Although I know why Kabuto always failed (to collect information only was the reason he took the exam probably) that didn't give _Naruto_ the right to make fun of him. After all, I'm sure Naruto would fail a lot more times.

"Hehe, you know what?" Kabuto said, "I'll share some information with you guys, with my ninja info cards."

"Ninja info cards?" Sakura asked, interested. Sasuke too got an interested look in his eyes. He looked at me and we made eye contact, but I looked away, focusing my attention on Kabuto. There were so many things to do. I had to keep an eye on Kabuto, but also… when he undermines the Sound ninja, they attack us in a few minutes, I need to stop that… And I need to stop…

Kabuto crouched to the ground, "They are basically cards with chakra fused to them, encoding them with information."

I wonder if they are Orochomaru's…

"You can only view them if I fuse my chakra with it," Kabuto explained, and he spun the card on the ground. My eyes widened with shock as I saw chakra splurt out in waves from the card and his hand. This was really the first time I've ever seen anything remotely related to chakra, or anything ninja like.

"Wow, a really easy to read graph, what kind of information is this?" Sakura said. If it's so easy to read… I thought to myself, than why is she asking that?

"This is the number of those taking the exam and the breakdown of what country they are from." Kabuto said, glancing up at her. Then he glanced at me. I gulped. I hope I wasn't being suspicious.

"Do you have cards with info on individuals? Sasuke asked.

Kabuto chuckled, "Are there guys that you're worried about?" he chuckled again (creepy!), "Of course the info on the participates in this exam aren't perfect, even of you guys. Say something about these guys and I'll take a look."

"Gaara of the Hidden Sand and Rock Lee of the Hidden Leaf."

"Oh, you know their names, that should be easy then," Kabuto pulled a card out from the stack and whished it through the air. The ninja kids could probably follow it but it was too fast for me to see. Kabuto held the cards to his face, examining them.

"Show me." Sasuke commanded.

"Ok, first is Rock Lee." Kabuto began, "He's a year older than you guys. Mission history, D Rank: 20 completed, C Rank: 12 completed. His sensei is Might Guy. His taijutsu has improved greatly in the last year, but the rest is nothing impressive… Last year he gained attention as a talented new Genin, but he did not participate in the Chunin exams. Like you guys," Kabuto glanced at everyone, "This is his team and his first time. His team mates are Hyuuga Neji and Tenten.

"Next is Gaara of the Desert. Mission History, C Rank: 8, B Rank: 1. Wow, a B Rank at Genin… that's impressive. Since he's a new comer from a different village I don't have much information on him, but it seems like he has returned from all of his missions without even a scratch on him."

Sasuke was staring down the card. I couldn't tell whether he was scared of exited. I think that it is a mixture of both, personally.

"Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Water, Fall, Sound… Many outstanding Genins from various villages are here to take the exam. Well… the Hidden Sound Village is a small new village that was just created in the last year so there isn't much info there, but the rest of the hidden villages are filled with talented youngsters."

I gulped. I hoped that the Sound nin didn't hear it. In the manga, they a attacked them. Maybe I should intervene? I scanned the crowd, looking for their team.

"M..Make's you lose your confidence…" Hinata mumbled. Right… I thought, I'm not even in the exam and I'm shitting myself. I can't help my tongue, I'm going to apologize in advance for whatever swears I commit. Geez… what's wrong with me? I'm just sort of totally off edge today!

"So basically," Sakura concluded, "All the Genin here are…"

"Yup, like Lee and Gaara, they are the top elite Genin from various villages." Kabuto finished. "This isn't going to be easy."

I saw Naruto shaking, his head down and his face dark. I wondered for a moment, before my brain kicked in, why he was upset. Then my eyes widened. Oh… no…

"Hey, Naruto," Sakura said, stepping forward, "Don't get so down!"

She looked surprised as Naruto suddenly pointed at the audience (aka the other students in the room). He opened his mouth but I jumped him, covering his mouth with my arm. He squirmed in my 'embrace' and I hissed angrily, "Stop being an idiot, do you want _everyone_ to _want_ to _kill_ you?"

I saw movement in the crowd. The Sound nin must be advances. Geez (I say that a lot)… I feel like some kind of special agent or something. I let go of the complaining Naruto and walked over Kabuto.

I winced as Naruto yelled, "MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI AND I WON'T LOSE TO YOU BASTARDS!"

I sighed, my shoulders sinking a bit in defeat. I guess that you'll never win against an idiot.

"HEY!" Ino yelled at Sakura, pointing at Naruto, "What _is_ he?" an idiot just like you, Barbie.

Sakura just glared at Naruto. I'm guessing the same thing is going through her mind. Great minds think alike. Too bad I can't say the same about Sasuke… he just doesn't have a great mind! Haha…that wasn't a funny joke, was it?

"Ah… that felt great!" Naruto said, rolling on his heels and leaning back with his hands behind his head.

"Heh," Sasuke said, grinning. I guess he didn't think it was a bad idea. Kabuto also grinned at the eccentric little boy.

"You won't lose to those bastards? Big words, show off," Kiba scoffed.

"What a moron, he just turned everyone into his enemy!" Shikamaru gave Naruto an exasperated look which made me realize that he really didn't approve since he put the effort to actually put a facial expression on.

"NARUTO!" Sakura attacked Naruto, and she started yelled at him. I ignored them. As a approached Kabuto, he gave me a look as to ask why I was approaching him. I scanned the crowd again.

I saw movement and someone jumping with incredible speed and force. I don't know how I saw that, maybe it was because I was expecting it.

"SOUND NINJA!" I yelled at the top of my voice. The ninja in the air ignored me. "Sound ninja there will be no fighting prior to the exam or you WILL be disqualified."

This actually got their attention. This got everyone's attentions. They all started staring at me.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, confused. Sasuke and Sakura gave me a look as to ask 'what the hell?'

Even Kabuto and the other Genin were confused. Great, so much for a low profile. I mentally kicked myself in the butt.

"QUIET DOWN THERE YOU WORTHLESS BASTARDS!" Ibiki's loud voice echoed through the room. My eyebrow twitched.

In a cloud of smoke all of the proctors appeared, looking very professional in those outfits of theirs that looked like something of the army… damn it, I really _don't_ have a brain! If there was silence before with my attempt of being a proctor, there was silence now. All eyes were turned toward the proctors.

"Thanks for waiting." Ibiki said, "I am Ibiki Morino, the examiner for the Chuunin selection exam's first test. Students gulped. Even I gulped and I'm not a participant. Great, my boss is really intimidating. Jeez…

He pointed at the Sound Ninja, "Hidden Sound guys, stop doing as you please before the exam. Do you want to fail already? I suggest you do as Proctor Grace says, after all, she has the power to disqualify you as well." Ha, that's me!

People's eyes widened and the ones who were in contact with me turned to me with a shocked expression on their faces. Naruto just stood there, Sakura just had her mouth open, and Kabuto had a smile of his face. How did he know? Or is he just amused? I looked out the corner of my eye at Sasuke. He just had this strange expression on his face before it turned blank. I frowned. What was the matter? Then again, I'd be pissed if my friend turned out to be something other than I thought she was…

"I apologize…" The main sound ninja said, although he didn't sound apologetic, "This is our first time… I'm afraid we got carried away…"

"Bah," Ibiki said, "Here's a good opportunity to say this." He looks sternly across the room, "There will be no fighting without permission of the examiner. Even if permission is granted, killing your opponent is strictly prohibited." He glared at them, "Those pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?"

They nodded out of fear. None spoke.

"Heh, this exam is sounding easy," The other male sound ninja said.

The proctors grinned at the petrified faces.

"We will now start the first test in the Chuunin exam. Instead of your current seating arrangements. You will pick one of these tabs and sit in the seats assigned to you. Then we will hand you out the exam papers.

"Huh?" Sakura said.

I glanced at Naruto. So far… no reaction.

"WHAT?!" Naruto yelled, "A PAPER TEST!?"

I sighed. There it is.

"Ok, now it's time to line up for your seating arrangements." Ibiki said. The kids started lining up. "Grace," He said, quietly, turning to me, "You can hand out the tabs."

"Oh, no!" I said, "I can't…"

"Now." He said.

I nodded with dread. What if I messed it up and seated the students where they weren't supposed to be? Like what if they aren't in the same order as before?

I saw them line up the same, maybe it will be ok. I glanced at the tabs. They were in random order. Damn in…

I handed it out, hoping that they will be in the same order.

I breathed a sigh of relief as people began sitting around in their seating… at least some things are turning out like the real story. There was one mistake. Gaara is sitting in-between Hinata and Naruto. I'm screwed. Poor Hinata looks like she's going to die. I'd die if that maniac sat next to me.

Or glared at me…

I shivered and quickly went to my seat. I was sitting next to people I've never met. I saw them at the proctors, but I never met them in person. Now isn't really the time to meet them, so I'll just have to ignore them for a while. That should be easy. I kept my eye on Gaara. I hope he doesn't do anything to Hinata. I don't care about Naruto. No, that's not true, but Hinata…

Now is when I'm at a very difficult position. Should I disqualify Gaara? I know he has something to do with the attack on the village… and if I take him out of the picture… will they get suspicious? No… they don't know that I know about stuff… like what happens… so they won't suspect anything…but what if Gaara is disqualified and he goes crazy? I could tell people to keep an eye on him…

That's what I'll do… I know that it'll change things drastically, but… it will delay the attack on the village. And… I grimaced.

I'll disqualify Sasuke too.

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THANK YOU FOR READING! I hope I haven't angered too many people!  also, if you are a reviewing person, PLEASE TELL ME WHETHER OR NOT YOU THINK SASUKE AND GAARA SHOULD ACTUALLY BE DISQUALIFIED, because it's not set in stone.

I will update by July, 5, 2008

QUOTE: "I can't believe I'm getting jealous… no!" – Grace

Thanks for reading!

fUnKyToEs


	14. The Chuunin Exams: Part III

I saw Sakura giving Naruto a haughty look

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: _Chuunin Exams: Part III_ (chapter 14)

WORDS (Including short story): 6,763 words (20 PAGES!! I'm proud of myself.)

REVIEWS:

_XXBlackfireXX:_Thank you! (for permission of the name Oreo as well as reviewing! ) Anyway, thank you for the advise about Sasuke and Gaara. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

_Uzura-chan__:_ I agree that Grace should be mean to Ino. I think she becomes ok in the Shippuden chronicles, when she grows up a bit but before hand she's just plain immature and annoying… not to mention such a slut… and I'm glad that someone had finals… it makes me feel better. School does such and I'm so happy it's over. Although now I have like, three jobs so I'm even more busy… sigh… and as for the rain forests… I totally agree! Why waste paper on stuff kids don't even do?! You have piranhas?! That's so cool!? I have a fish… named Petri. You can't have my fish to feed your piranhas!"

_Dragoink__:_ I'm curious about your name, it intrigues me… dragoink… You're right, Gaara is essential which is why… you'll have to read! Thank's for reviewing! Oh, I like that nickname… fUnKy! Yay! … wait… I have mixed feelings… anyway hope you'll enjoy this chapter too!

_Valinor's Twilight__: _Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

_Pandastacia__: _Wow! You kept your name! I applaud you! Anyway, yah, your right about Gaara killing Grace… which is why I changed a lot of stuff in this chapter… do you like pandas? Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

_Outlaw-Lanaya__: _Thank you! I'm so glad you like this story! Yeah, I'm trying to make this story original. Although, as you will read, she has mixed thoughts about Gaara and Sasuke being disqualified, but she does think about it, especially in the next chapter. Thank you for reviewing! There will be more Gaara/Grace interaction in the next chapter, so I hope you'll read till then!

NORMAL BLAH: Thank you for reading! (that was written with a sing-song voice by the end. Because this is the fourth of July and because there are 50 reviews (50 REVIEWS!) I've decided to add a little bonus chapter at the end of this one, a reward for my loyal readers. I'd like to thank you for reading my story, and for reviewing and I want to say that you guys encourage me to keep writing and I'm very thankful for all of you!

One more thing, I apologize if this chapter is a little boring, because the first exam is mainly talk and key facts so it's a little like the manga and a little less about Grace, but I assure you that once the Chuunin Exams get more active it will be more about Grace. You'll see what I mean when you read this chapter. Anyway, enjoy!

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I saw Sakura giving Naruto a haughty look. She must still think that the exam is now on individual. Too bad for her… if it weren't for Naruto's brave act at the end of this they would have been disqualified. Naruto might be an idiot but he does make some good choices, even if they are rash and pathetically stupid at the time. Well, what can I say? He's Naruto and that's all that there is to it.

I also noticed, with dread I might add, that Naruto began getting aggravated by Gaara's cool stature, while Hinata was looking downright petrified. Poor Hinata, I thought, I'd do anything to _not_ be in her place right now. I looked back on previous thoughts. Should I really disqualify them? Sasuke and Gaara I mean.

The point is what I would be accomplishing. Yeah, Gaara kills people but they're not important to the plot. I gasped out loud. I can't believe I just thought that! I keep forgetting that this is the real world, not some chair in your room while reading a book! If someone dies there it's no big deal, unless it's a big character. In real life… that's a _death_. But still… the Chuunin Exams would keep Gaara occupied for the while, and he'd probably kill more people if he was bored… and me not to mention and I wasn't about to let that happen. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a 'I don't care what happens to everyone else as long as I'm safe' sort of person, I just don't want to die, that's all. But… what if the Sand Village gets suspicious? It would be something to get suspicious over… and not to mention that they would be pissed that their greatest chess piece would be taken off the table… I guess that means no disqualifying Gaara, so I might as well play along with the Sand Village. I'll have to warn the Hokage first, though…

I caught Ibiki's eye and gave him a warning look, twitching my head in Gaara and Naruto's direction, signifying that he keep an eye on them. He nodded. I glanced at Naruto, who was trying to catch my attention. What was he doing? I gave him a questioning look and then my eyes roamed the room. Sakura smiled at me but her expression was guarded. Did I loose her trust that quickly? I wasn't _allowed_ to tell them I was a proctor! Or was I? I can't remember… I looked over the crowd again and my eyes locked with Sasuke's. His eyes were dark and he was looking at me with a very strange expression on his face. He seemed almost angry that I didn't tell him, almost like I betrayed him or something. I frowned. Was this similar to the time that Itachi betrayed him? It couldn't be, as this is a totally different situation, but the hurt must be there somewhere. I felt a pang of guilt, though I don't know why. It's only a stupid exam, why am I getting so worked up about it? Why are they getting so worked up about it?

I saw Naruto conversing with Hinata over Gaara's head. That wasn't good… not that Naruto and Hinata were conversing, but that Gaara was in-between them. I was actually worried. Not for Naruto, he can fend for himself, but for Hinata. I'm not saying she's week or anything, because I actually really admire Hinata, it's just that Gaara would kill her, seriously.

"Do not turn your tests over," Ibiki said, "Listen closely to what I am about to say. There are many important rules to the first test. I'll write it on the board while I explain, but questions will not be allowed so listen carefully."

"Rules?" Sakura asked softly. It was quiet and to herself, and I only heard because I was near her.

"The first rule," Ibiki began, "is that each of you will start off with ten points. The test is made up of ten questions, and each are worth a point, but this test uses a subtraction system. Basically if you answer all ten questions correctly, you keep all ten of your points. But say if you miss three questions, you only have seven points. The second rule to the exam is that this is a team test, whether you pass or fail will be determined by the combined score of your teammates. So each team will compete to see how many points they can hold on to from the initial total of thirty."

Sakura banged her head on the table. Even I was a little worried for Naruto. She raised her hand into the air, "Wait a second!" she said, "I don't understand this initial points system either, but why is it a team test?"

"Shut up!" Ibiki half shouted, "You don't have the right to question me!" I flinched, remembering all to well the interrogation between Ibiki and myself. There is a reason for this, be quiet and listen."

Sakura slumped in her seat and stayed silent.

"The rule is that during the exam… anyone caught by the testing officers doing sneaky activities, namely cheating, will have two points subtracted for every offence."

"Oh!" Sakura said.

"So there will be some who will loose all their points and asked to leave." Ibiki said.

Sakura got a pensive look on her face, so I knew she was thinking about something.

"We'll have our eyes on you guys," Kotetsu said, leaning in his chair. He was a few chairs down from me. That show off… I narrowed my eyes at him. The kids in the room gulped.

"Realize that the pathetic ones who got caught cheating will be destroying themselves." Ibiki continued, "As Shinobi trying to achieve the level of Chuunin, be proud ninja."

I grinned at the crowd. I wonder how long it will take till they figure out what that was really about.

"And the final rule," Ibiki concluded, "Those that lose their all their initial points during the exam and fail all the questions…" he glared at all of them, "Will be failed along with their two teammates."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he obtained a shocked expression while Sakura's was plain amusing. She opened her mouth in disbelief. I actually feel bad for them… Naruto on the other hand shrunk into his chair. He was sweating and he on his face the look of someone who knew that their death was near.

"I sense that two people want to kill me." He whispered to himself.

"The exam will last one hour." Ibiki said. "Ok…" he paused to give them one last glare, "BEGIN!"

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_This could be very bad…_ Sakura thought, _Naruto…_She glanced at him, in front of her two rows up, _Please at least get one correct._

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_Hehe…_Naruto thought, _This is easy! I've survived dangerous situations numerous times! I can't fail here!_ He straightened his headband and glanced at Grace, sitting with the other proctors. He still couldn't believe that she was a proctor… who would have guessed. He frowned. Why was she looking at him with such a bemused expression? He could never understand her.

_In times like these you just need to sit down and relax…_ "Umm… Umm…" he muttered out loud. He heard a quiet chuckle and looked up, noticing that it came from Grace. He glared at her. He glanced down at the paper. _Calmly look over each question, find one you can answer… and focus your mind on it._

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_This is bad…_ Sasuke thought, biting his thumb while thinking. _Naruto's already freaking out…_ He glanced at Grace and narrowed his eyes. He was still surprised that she was one of the exam officials. It didn't make sense. She wasn't a ninja and was blind to everything the ninja did. She was just a simple civilian… why would she be chosen to be here… at a level of responsibility? It couldn't be that she was pretending to be a non-ninja, it was obvious, and no ninja can be that good at acting… what's so special about her that she was chosen to be a proctor? _Then again,_ he thought, _She's always had ANBU tracking her, keeping an eye on her… she lives with the Hokage, and she just appeared out of no where…_ Who _is_ she?

He shook his head, ignoring the gnawing subject for the moment. He needed to focus.

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"First question is a cryptogram!" Naruto said, "Ok, Let's do it!"

He moved onto the next question.

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_Will Naruto be all right?_ Sakura thought. _I have to worry about myself… I need to get us points here…_She bit her lip, _Hmm…NO. 2 "Line B, seen in the picture, is the greatest possible distance shinobi… can throw his shuriken from a tree of seven meters…For enemies who appear within the circumference of the shuriken's range, explain the attack options using this distance. Show your work." _She blinked; _this is a very complicated question that requires both book smarts and experience. There's no way Naruto can answer this… actually, almost no one here can answer this kind of question…though I can…_

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I had to hold back my laughter as I saw the evolution of Naruto's face go from happy to freaking out. It was I swear the funniest thing I have ever seen. I saw Sasuke's face also go to somewhat worried, and irritated. So the almighty Sasuke is having trouble is he? Ha! Why am I so happy about that again? Oh well…

Back to my original thoughts. I had to really think about this. I decided to not disqualify Gaara, but Sasuke… I didn't want him to get the curse mark. I'm NOT, just to let you know, doing it out of his own safety… I swear I'm not and no one DARE suggest otherwise. It's just that he hurts some people of this village… not to mention that he becomes a missing nin.

But… if I disqualify him… I glanced up at him, watching his pensive face. He'll… hate me. I don't know what came over me; it was as if that was the worst thing that would ever be able to happen to me. Why? I'm not sure. I just didn't want that to happen. I wanted him to stay being my friend. Did I actually… _Enjoy_ being his friend? I blinked in surprise. What was this feeling? Why am I… torn between it? I don't want to disqualify him because I don't want him to hate me but I also want to because… I don't' want him to be hurt. My eyes widened. I never thought… that I'd be so protective over Sasuke. I couldn't understand it. A few weeks ago and I hated the little boy, and now all that matters is that he stays my friend and that he's safe. I really don't understand it.

But if I disqualify Sasuke, then Naruto and Sakura will be disqualified too… and I'll lose their friendships too, probably. I looked down at my feet. I don't want to lose three friends. I won't disqualify them, and try to keep Sasuke from getting attacked from Orochomaru. Maybe I should distract him with my 'knowing the future stuff?'… Nah, then he'll just kidnap me. I'll just insult him. Call him Oreo or something… a big fat double creamed Oreo…

That makes me hungry.

I gagged that Orochomaru was in the same thought as me being hungry.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_What's this? _Sasuke thought, _it's like they assume we'll cheat, what bastards._ He glanced at Grace. She had a confused expression on her face. She looked up at him, and flushed as they made eye contact and looked away. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. What was _wrong_ with her?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

…_the second rule…_ Sakura thought, _If they add of the team members scores, that means we'll be ranked…how many teams will be allowed to pass through…It's not like knowing will make a difference. _

"Um, I'd like to know something!" Sakura looked up in surprise as the boy sitting next to her stood up. "How many teams will be allowed to pass this test?"

_Well,_ Sakura thought, _Looks like I'll find out._

"Hehe…" Ibiki chuckled. "It's not like knowing will help you, or would you like to be disqualified?"

"Sorry," the boy said as he sat down.

_I thought so…_ Sakura thought, _If only ten of the 51 teams will pass… then you have to get a lot of points…This is a system that encourages cheating… Hopefully Naruto or Sasuke won't be foolish enough to try cheating. Don't worry_, she assured herself, _Naruto isn't that stupid… I know that much._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Just relax…_ Naruto thought, _I just have to calmly… calmly…CHEAT IN A WAY I WON'T GET CAUGHT!_ He was sweating bullets and was holding his head up with his hands, staring at the paper with wide frightened eyes. He ignored the chuckling from Grace's direction. Thinking about her won't help things. He narrowed his eyes, _No! I can't think about cheating! I can't cross that dangerous bridge!_

He whimpered slightly.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_But all of those guys watching us…They are probably making checks on those sheets…_

One proctor made a particularly deliberate check on a sheet. _Someone just got caught. _

He remembered what Ibiki had said earlier. _"Those pathetic ones who get caught will be destroying themselves. As Shinobi trying to achieve the level of Chuunin, be proud ninja."_

_Wait a moment! _Sasuke's eyes widened, _I see! That's it! Damn it, so it isn't just to test our abilities. Hurry up and notice, Naruto. It could cost you everything, because this is…also a test to see how well we can gather information using our skills…_

"_The Shinobi must read underneath the underneath." So what the examiner meant was that if you're going to cheat don't do it pathetically, but like a proud ninja and don't get caught!_

_If you look at it that way, the subtraction system, and the fact that they let you get caught cheating four times before they disqualify you makes sense…So basically, what is being tested is our ability to gather information without being caught by the testing officers and the person who's test we're cheating off of…_

_Notice this Naruto! The smart guys will be moving soon…_

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kankuro gulped as Gaara sent him a glance. _Don't look at me like that, _he thought back, _I know. _Gaara returned to looking at his own paper. Sand began to creep off Gaara's hand. _So Gaara's already moving. I'm counting on you, Karasu._

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

_AAAWWW! DAMN IT! _Naruto clutched his forehead; _My only chance is to cheat!_

The clocked ticked away.

_Ah! Damn it! I'm running out of time! _He froze in surprise as a kunai rushed past him, slamming into the desk behind him.

" WHOA!" The kid exclaimed, jumping back in his seat in surprise of being attacked by the weapon.

_What was that? I was about to look over there… _

"What was that for!" the kid yelled at Kotetsu, who had been the one to throw it.

"You messed up five times, you fail." Kotetsu said.

"No… no way!" The kid said his eyes wide with horror.

"The two on his team get out of here, right now," Kotetsu said again.

"Damn it," the kid said as he and his team exited the room.

_That was close, I've decided not to cheat,_ Naruto concluded. _Because if I get caught it will cause problems for Sakura and Sasuke too. I can't blow it here._

The clock ticked. It was 5: 04

_Thirty minutes has passed… only thirty minutes… Then… I'll have to risk on this. _He looked down, sweating, at question NO.10

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Ok, done, _Sakura said, wiping her chin, _Now all I have to do is wait for the next question. _

She gasped as her body jerked.

_Hehe… sorry… Sakura!_ Ino thought, inside Sakura's head. _I'm going to enter your spirit for a little while. I have to memorize these quickly, two to three minutes is this jutsu's limit. I have to enter Shikamaru and Choji and enter these answers as well…_

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Number 102, stand up." A proctor yelled out, "You fail!"

"Number 23, you fail!"

"43!"

"27!"

That's thirteen teams, I thought. That's a lot. Are they just trying to get rid of people?

"Do you have proof that I cheated 5 times?" One kid yelled angrily, standing up, "Are you guys watching all—"

I gasped as the man sitting next to me disappeared and reappeared right next to the boy, slamming his arm into the kid's chest so fast that he managed to push the kid off the desk and against the wall on the far side, propelling the kid by his arm. Whoa, he is strong!

"Listen, among Chuunin, we are the elite that were assembled to watch over this exam, we haven't missed anything you've done. You could say that this strength is our proof!"

Everyone gulped.

I frowned at myself. I wasn't being any use at all. I'm not sure why they made me come here, I mean, it's not like I'm being of any use. I only know what people are doing because I've read it and even then I can't really see what they're doing, but sometimes I pretend that I'm seeing… what am I talking about? I'm completely useless!

Kankuro raised his hand. "Excuse me!"

"What is it?" The guy on the other side of me asked. The guy on the _other_ side of me had returned a while ago.

"Bathroom." He said.

His puppet, in disguise as one of the proctors, walked up to him and hand cuffed him. "We'll have to come with you." He said. I grinned; this is where I can get Kankuro back for calling me bitch.

"No." I said, stepping forward and walking up to them, "You keep watch, I'll go with him." I smiled at Kankuro, who blinked at me. He was in a dangerous situation. If he insisted that his puppet go with him, then everyone would get suspicious. I looked at Ibiki who nodded. He knew what I was doing. The puppet went and sat back down. I grabbed the chain and told Kankuro, "Keep going."

He glared at me slightly and then we walked to the bathroom. He went around the corner to pee, and that's when I realized my mistake. I shuddered as I saw the state of the men's room. There was toilet paper on the _walls_! How could guys live like this? This is gross!

"So…" I said, "This is pay back for calling me bitch."

Kankuro jerked slightly in surprise. He came around the corner and began washing his hands. "How is this payback?" he said.

I grinned, "Well, now you can't get your puppet to tell you the answers."

His eyes widened in surprise. "How do you…"

I leaned in closer to him. He was as tall as I was, for someone a year or so younger than me. "I know a lot of things, Sand Ninja. I'm not afraid to tell my superiors things that might mess up your plans."

"With cheating using a puppet?" He laughed nervously.

"Yep." I glared at him, "I just want to warn you because I don't want the Sand Village to perish. Your team is the only team from your village that stands a chance, and your tem are important. I need you in the game."

He stared at me. "Who are you?" he said.

"My name is Grace." I said. I sighed. I went to the door and the puppet man stood by it. He must have been ordered to do so to protect me. I guess that makes sense since I'm a girl in the guys bathroom all alone with a guy who plays with puppets… "I have to go back, but will you stay and watch him while he finishes?" I said this loudly so that the people in the other room would be able to hear. It was only a wall away. I turned to Kankuro, "And Kankuro," I said, quietly, "You should know that all snakes lie."

I walked into the other room, and gave Ibiki a nod saying I'm letting him cheat for a reason. He nodded back. I knew he wouldn't question me, for all he knows it's important that that team be included in the exam. He was right, it was important. I had long made the choice to keep them in, because I need them occupied.

I sat down and gulped. I really made a bad mistake. I just let them know that I know about their attack… hopefully they won't kill me during the second exam. Then again, if they try jounin will come in and stop them… that are good. Regardless, I just wanted to scare him a little. I also wanted to warn them. How stupid do you have to be to trust Orochomaru?

I just hope I didn't make a mistake. Maybe he won't know, or maybe he won't understand the underline message? I hope not. Regardless, it's possible that he didn't understand and I also have to tell the Hoakge and Ibiki and all them. I just wanted… I don't' know. I'm used to the Shippuden Gaara, Temari and Kankuro and have grown to enjoy them, so I don't want to see them crushed (their village) because I know how much it damages them.

"Ok," Ibiki said, "I'll start with the tenth question!"

Naruto gulped.

"Now before we get to it, I'd like to go over the added rules for this question."

Added rules? Of course! How could I have forgotten! Those are what make Naruto such a cool guy for once! Poor Naruto, I've never met a guy so put down all the time by people around him.

Kankuro came in with his puppet.

"Heh," Ibiki said, "Nice timing. Was your doll playing beneficial? Just sit down."

Kankuro passed the note to Temari and then sat down. "I'll now explain," Ibiki said, "These are… the rules of desperation. For this tenth question, you must decide whether or not to take it."

"Choose!" Temari shouted, "What happens if we choose not to?"

"If you choose not to, your points will be reduced to zero. You'll fail along with your two teammates."

"What does that mean!"

"Of course we'll take the tenth question!"

"And now," Ibiki continued, "Another rule. If you choose to take it, and answer incorrectly, that person will lose the right to ever take the Chuunin Exam again!"

Naruto gasped.

"That rule is bull!" Kiba yelled, pointing at Ibiki, "There are guys here who have taken the exam here!"

"Hehe…" Ibiki started chuckling. Even _I_ was scared. "hehehehe…" That was creepy. "You guys were unlucky. This year it's my rules."

Yeah, I thought, they _are_ unlucky.

"But I'm giving you a way out. If you choose not to take the tenth question, you may go home and try again next year."

Kids gulped as they wondered what their teammates would do, or want them to do.

"Those that do not wish to take it, raise your hand, once your number is confirmed, leave."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Those that do not wish to take it, raise your hand, once your number is confirmed, leave."

Naruto gulped. _What kind of question is it going to be! Damn it! If I get it wrong I'll be an eternal Genin! No way! But if I choose to avoid it… Sasuke and Sakura would fail as well…I don't wan that either! _

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_I won't raise my hand_, Sakura thought; _I have confidence that I can answer it. Even if Naruto causes us to fail, it's not like I got the question wrong so I can try again next time. But… but Naruto… you're different. You should forget about us and think about the next chance. _

Someone raised their hand. "I… I won't take it!" they said in a regretful tone.

"No. 50 fails!"

"130 and 111, fail!"

"Damn it!" Someone next to Naruto muttered as they pushed themselves up.

"Me too!"

"And me!"

"Sorry guys."

"I quit."

"Me too."

Sakura looked back at Naruto. He was shaking. _Naruto… why aren't you raising your hand? _

"_Yay! Yay! Ninja! Ninja!"_

"_One day I'll be known as the super elite Hokage! My name is Naruto Uzumaki and don't forget it!"_

"_Shut up! I'm prepared to do anything to become Hokage!"_

"_I'll surpass Hokage, and then I'll make everyone acknowledge me!"_

_Always acting like a fool who only knows one thing… Hokage, Hokage… I'm sorry Naruto…_ Sakura thought, _That impossible dream of yours…_She smiled, _I don't want to see it crushed. _She began raising her hand.

Naruto was already holding his hand out.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I saw Naruto lift his hand into the air. I felt a rush of respect, but it died when I realized that he might not actually do the same thing as before. Please, I prayed, let Naruto be the rash stupid fellow I know!

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!" he yelled, slamming his hand on the table with a bang, "I WILL NOT RUN! I'll take it! Even if I'm a Genin forever! I will become Hokage one day anyway, so I don't care! I'M NOT AFRAID!"

He doesn't need to keep shouting, but he got his point across. I grinned. That's right Naruto, you be stupid and yet smart at the same time. That's impossible… well, Naruto be stupid as always!

"I'll ask you again." Ibiki said, "Your life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit."

"I follow my unbending words," Naruto growled, "That's my ninja way!"

"Good decisions." Ibiki said, "Now, to everyone who is still remaining. I congratulate you for passing the first exam!"

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, "We pass already? What about the tenth question!?"

The exam participants' expressions were so amusing that I actually let out a laugh. I got surprised glances from all of them.

"There was never such a thing!" Ibiki said, grinning. Wow, if you ignore the scars on his face he's actually not bad looking… in a big bear sort of way… "Or you could say that those two choices were the tenth question."

"Huh?" Sakura asked

Very intelligent… pinky?

"Hey!" Temari shouted, "Then what were the first nine questions for? They were pointless!"

"They were not pointless," Ibiki said, "They already served their intended purpose."

"Hn…?"

"To test your individual information gathering skills," Ibiki said, his grin getting bigger, "That purpose."

Whoa, he totally changed personalities.

"Information gathering?" Temari asked. She's full of questions!

"First, as the rules explained, success on this test is based on the whole team doing well. This puts pressure on each member not to mess up things for their teammates."

Naruto nodded, "I thought it was like that."

LIAR! I thought.

Hinata giggled. Ooh, she's so cute! I totally, when the Chuunin exams are over, going to play match maker with them!

"But the questions on this test were not questions that mere Genin could answer," Ibiki continued. He went on but I was too bored by now to listen. I have a very short attention span. I looked at Sasuke, who was looking in my direction. Is he surprised that I knew about the test? He's probably just hurt that I didn't tell him or anything. The spoiled brat…

"So basically," Ibiki said, "The premise of this test is to cheat."

"Heh," Sasuke smirked. That bastard… all thoughts of being nice to him and caring about him are all LIES! I hate him! He's going to burn in hell with all his sneaky little smirks and egotistical remarks!

Ibiki had been talking for a while but then he did something that caught my eye. I glanced up to hear him say, "But those that cheat poorly… fail of course." He was untying his head protector. "Because in time information is more important than life. And on missions and the battlefield, people risk their lives to get their hands on it."

I gasped in surprise. It was one thing to see it on cartoon, another thing to see it in real life. It was horrible. Burns, scars, screw holes… it must have been unbearable.

"If an enemy or a third party notices you, there is no guarantee that the information will be accurate. I want you to remember this. Important information in your hands… can be a powerful weapon for your weapons and your comrades." He looked pointedly at me, and then his eyes scanned the desks, "So we had you gather information through cheating. This clearly separated those who clearly didn't have the ability."

"But I don't understand the tenth question," Temari said again. I sighed. She's such a blond. Never mind about that, Temari's a cool person, she's just…

Ibiki tied his head protector back on, smiling again, "But the tenth question is the true objective of the test."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

I yawned. It was so boring, why can't we just skip to the chase? I focused my eyes on Sasuke. As I looked, I saw the deep shade of his hair was actually really cool looking. My fingers itched to run through them, not because I thought he was sexy or anything, it was the memory of that day when I had to distract him. His hair was really, really, really, really nice! And his eyes… I've always loved dark eyes…

I literally slapped myself, making people look my way. What am I thinking? That was weird. It wasn't like I like Sasuke, it was just that I like his hair and I like dark eyes. Don't jump to conclusions people!

"HELL YEAH!" Naruto shouted, "WISH US LUCK!"

Ibiki smiled at the overenthusiastic boy. Then he looked towards the window. I looked too, knowing what to expect. Someone spun through the air, and kunai went everywhere. So irresponsible, so like Naruto… I thought.

"What's this?" Naruto asked loudly, a shocked expression on his face.

Anko was suddenly standing in front of a large black banner with Japanese writing over it. Damn language! "You guys!" she shouted, "This is no time to be celebrating! I am the examiner for the second test! Anko Mitarashi! Now let's go! Follow me!"

Ibiki peered from the other side of the banner, "Bad timing…" he muttered.

Anko flushed and glared at him. Oooh…. I thought, they'd make a great couple as well! What is with me and all these romantic thoughts today?

"This examiner Naruto-ish," Sakura muttered.

"78? Ibiki you left 26 teams?" Anko yelled, "This test was way too easy this time!"

"This time there are a lot of outstanding ones," Ibiki said.

"Bah," Anko said, "That's fine, I'll cut them all in half at least."

Shocked faces echoed around the room.

"Ahh…." Anko said, "I'm getting excited, "I'll explain everything once we've changed places. Follow me."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I walked out the door and then looked to my side in surprise as Ibiki stood in my way. "Grace," he said, "I'd like to know what you talked about with the Sand Ninja."

I blinked, "I was just warning him about cheating, that's all." Then I paused… "Ibiki," I said, "There's something else you should know. I have to go to the second exam, so I can't go right to the Hokage but… the Sand and the Sound have made an alliance together to attack the village."

Ibiki's eyes widened. "When?" he asked.

"During the third exam," I said, "They will attack. But," I said, "For the third exam, it's crucial for Gaara and Sasuke to fight, because that is a factor in the attack, and if that isn't the way it's supposed to be, than I can't warn you of things."

"Sound village…" Ibiki muttered, "That's where Orochomaru is?"

"That's Orochomaru's village." I said.

He stared at me, "What…"

"Orochomaru will turn up in the second exam, to get Sasuke. I'd have guards ready to come in to stop him. I'll stay near Sasuke and keep an eye on him, as well as an eye for Orochomaru. Wherever Sasuke is, that's where you'll find the snake."

Ibiki nodded. "What…"

"Ibiki," I said, "You need to have extra protection around the Hokage. Orochomaru targets him. In the future I see now in my eyes, the Hokage dies during the third exam."

Ibiki's eyes widen in shock. "He dies?" he looked at me as if to see if I was lying and then said, "I'll write a note for you to give to Anko." He said. He whipped out paper and I handed him a pen. He handed me the note after a moment. Normally I would have read what he wrote but I couldn't the blasted language… that really should be my top priority.

"Yes." I said, "It is very important that he be kept safe… very safe." I said. "I should probably go now." I said. He nodded and I rushed off after the other people. It felt like a 150 lbs. weight just rolled of my shoulders. I didn't realize how much holding that in bothered me. It really is quite strange.

I ran out of the building and looked around. I went to one of the ninja standing guard outside the Academy building and asked where the forest of death was.

"A little late, aren't you?" he asked, "They already left."

"I know," I said, "I'm a proctor."

He blinked in surprise, "Are you the girl the Hokage was talking about?" he asked. I nodded, "in that case," he said, "I'll take you there myself."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I stared at the tall trees with wonder. They were just so big! You could fit a freakin' village on them! There were warning signs everywhere to 'stay out' and 'danger!'. I could see what they meant. I was on the outskirts of the group and I could see how dangerous it would be in there.

I gulped. I'd have to go in there?

"Welcome to the stage for the second test, training arena 44." Anko said to the group, "Also known as the forest of death!!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Thank you for reading! I'm so glad that people didn't stop reviewing because I took so much time on the previous chapter! It really makes me relieved. Ok. I just wanted to say… HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!! YAY!! FIREWORKS!! SEIZURES!! YEAH!! Ok, I'm done. I hope you all are thankful that I spent my fourth of July writing this story. Nah, I enjoyed it. I had nothing to do anyway because most of my friends are on vacation while I'm stuck home working… sigh… anyway, because it's fourth of July I've decided to reward all my loyal readers with a little surprise, which I might do more often if you guys like it.

This little flashback takes place a little after the 'hair incident'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I looked with a practiced eye at the sign above the shop. I grinned. Yup, this was exactly where I wanted to be.

"Ok," I whispered to Sasuke, "What does it really mean?"

"Hakano's Cloth's Shop." Sasuke said in a bored voice.

"Is that what it really says?" I asked.

"Why would I lie?" Sasuke said, folding his arms.

I glanced in the shop. There where cloths. I guess he's telling the truth. I grabbed his hand and pulled him in the store, "Come on let's go!"

"Hey!" he said, pulling himself out of my grip. I guess he doesn't like getting dragged… Yeesh! "I don't know why I have to be here, anyway." He muttered.

"Because Naruto's still in the hospital," I said, "And you were the first person who I saw this morning."

"… You know," he said, as he followed me down an isle, "You really shouldn't have dared him to see how much ramen he could eat."

"I was curious," I said. In my defense, he enjoyed it since he didn't have to pay. Neither did me, for that matter.

"And your really shouldn't made me pay for it either," Sasuke said, remembering how pissed he was when he was billed over 125,000 yen. He was not pleased to be sure. "You know, you really—"

"Need to stop saying 'you know' at the beginning of your sentences," I said, picking out an orange top and holding it up to myself. "What do you think?"

"It clashes with your hair." Sasuke said.

I glanced at my purple hair in one of the many mirrors. "Yeah, you're right. So what were you saying about your hair? I mean…" I paused, trying to remember what we were talking about. "Well, what were you saying?"

"You should have brought Sakura." He said, dodging as I rushed over to a table with tank tops on it.

I paused, "Yeah, you're right. But as I said before you were the first person I saw… and I can't take Konohamaru. That kid doesn't even know the meaning for _hygiene_, let alone _clean cloths_."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in disgust. "So why are you buying cloths anyway, what's wrong with the cloths the Hokage gave you?"

"They're so _plain_." I said, "I want something nice, like a summer dress. Something dressy. Not that I'm not thankful or that I don't like them, it's just that you can't wear them to dinner or anything."

Sasuke got a strange expression on his face, but it disappeared, "You have a date or something?"

I laughed out loud at that, pausing in my frenzied search for cloths to giggle at him, "_Me? _A _date?_ You're kidding right? Nah, I just want something nicer to wear than ninja clothing." I glanced down at one of the many identical outfits that the Hokage gave me. It was a dark purple T-shirt (darker than my hair) and black sweat pants. It was in truth a really, really, really comfortable outfit and I really liked it, but it wasn't something I'd wear out.

Anyway... "Ooh!" I said, "Over there!" I dashed to the isle of dresses. "Sasuke come over here!"

Sasuke came over. "Why do you girls always want to have tons of cloths," he complained.

I ignored making fun of him for complaining and stated, "_Some_ people want a variety, unlike _you_."

He raised an eyebrow, "So you _did_ go through my cloths that night you dyed your hair pink."

I froze, the dress hanging in mid hair from a stiff arm. "What are…" then it dawned on me, "I put everything back where it was!" I said, "How would you…"

"I had everything so neatly placed that when you messed everything up, it was pretty obvious. I didn't believe it at first, you didn't seem like the kind of girl who'd go through a guy's clothing drawer."

"I'm not that kind of girl," I sniffed.

"Why were you going through my cloths?" he asked.

"I was…" what was I doing? "I was curious if you wore any other kind of clothing." I said. "I was totally not curious about… anything else."

"Then why was my undergarment drawer messed up too?" he asked.

"I swear that wasn't me." I said. "It was a troll."

"A troll?" he had an amused expression on his face.

"That's right." I said, "There's a nasty troll living under your bed."

He sighed, "Whatever, you don't have to tell me."

"Why are you such a clean freak anyway?" I asked him, picking out a dark blue dress.

"… I just like things clean."

"You're OCD." I said.

"No I'm not." He said defensively.

"Yeah you are!" I laughed, "But that's what I love about you!"

We both froze.

"That's not what I meant!" I said, "I swear that came out of my mouth without me thinking! I meant…. That's what makes me so fond of you. Love has nothing to do with it."

Sasuke snickered and then said, reaching into the mob of dresses, pulling out a white one, "This one would look good on you." He said, handing it to me.

I looked at him and found out that he was right. It was a simple gown, down to the knees. It was a V-neck and there was a sash around the waist and it was sleeveless. "Wow," I said, "It would! I'm going to go try it on." I left him to go to the changing room. He followed me and waited for me to come out.

I opened the door and stepped out into the larger room, "What do you think?"

I turned around.

He didn't say anything. "Hey!" I said, turning to face him, "It can't be that—..." I stopped. He had the oddest expression on his face. "Are you ok?" I asked, "You look weird."

He blinked, snapping out of whatever it was that kept him from speaking. He smiled, "You look great." He said.

"Yay!" I said, hopping into the changing room, "I'll get this one then."

I laid the dress on the counter, telling the person there, "I'll get this one." I nodded in Sasuke's direction and then skipped out the door with the dress.

They stared at me for a moment as I disappeared and then looked at each other.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"GRACE!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ha! How was that! I thought I'd add that since this chapter was really boring, or maybe it was just for me, and I thought I'd spice things up for you guys. Not to mention it's the fourth of July. Oh, when you guys review (if you review) tell me whether I should add more of these little flashbacks at the end of a chapter more often, because they're more fun to write. Anyway, I apologize again for the boredomness of this chapter, the first exam is all talk anyway, and there are so many key things needed to be made that I felt like I didn't use Grace at all… oh well, now that it's the second exam it will mostly be in Grace's perspective, and it will be more oriented around Grace, instead of key facts. Ah… my hand hurts.

Thank you for reading!

Please review!

- fUnKyToEs

Oh, and I'll be updating by July 11, 2008


	15. The Chuunin Exams: Part IV

**TITLE: **Truthspeaker

**AUTHOR: **fUnKyToEs

**CHAPTER: **Chuunin Exams: Part IV (Chapter fifteen)

**WORDS**: 5, 092

**REVIEWS:**

_Uzura-Chan:_ Thank you! You always brighten my day! Yeah… I'm excited to write the Shippuden part, it's not like I don't enjoy writing this part, because I totally do, it's just that I feel like the good stuff starts in the shippuden… I'm thinking of writing them in two different stories, so that they're separated. Like a series or something. Ok, "Child-of-the-emos" is the best nickname! "insane-bowl-cut" "The-great-madam" and "your-friendly-neighborhood-psychopath" are the best! You're just too funny! Yeah… I'm actually planning to have her wear the dress during the month between the preliminary and the actual third exam… just to add some spice to the story. I'm actually going to enjoy this…Also, what do you mean by 'a rose by any other name is probably an imposter'? It's been intriguing me 24 hours every day. Anyway, gotta go and update this, Laters!

_Pandastacia: _Yay! You still haven't changed your name! I guess that means that you really like it! I still have trouble spelling it… I love pandas too! I really want Grace to call Gaara and panda but I don't want her to die… anyway, thanks for the review and I hope you like this chapter as well!

_Dragoink: _Thank you! I love that nickname! Anyway, thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much!

_Valinor's Twilight:_ Thank you! I enjoyed writing the part with the dress and shopping too. In the next chapter I'm thinking of adding another little flash back like that one. I'm thinking a carnival… I don't know.

_Inscape.peril:_ Thank you. I realize that this is probably very late that you're writing this review… I'm glad that you're back from Georgia, I miss hanging out with you.

_Kitkatyobaril-chan:_ yes… she "forgot" to pay. More like she purposefully forgot so that she didn't have to pay. That's probably why she brought Sasuke in the first place.

NORMAL BLAH!

Ok, so fUnKy here… I want to thank all of you for your reviews, and also… I managed to write all of this in just a few days… I had a few hours off from work so I had time… and I'm starting to get obsessed and writing whenever I can…I'm going to write another 'flashback' thing in the next chapter I think. It didn't make sense in this one, as you'll see. Anyway, enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"…" Naruto said as I approached them. To avoid a scene I kept to the back of them, hoping they won't see me. "This is weird…"

"… It's creepy," Sakura said, scared. Yeah, girl! I thought, I agree! Those trees are gigantic! I couldn't even believe my eyes. I just wanted to paint this place but I don't have the supplies or the time. What I really didn't want to do was go in there. Seriously, I think if I went in there I'd die in like, five minutes.

"Bah!" Anko said, "You'll soon find out why it's called the forest of death!" she grinned, showing all of her teeth. Personally, I don't want to know. What a creepy woman! She's kind of cool, though. I wouldn't want her to be my enemy, but I think I'd enjoy being her friend. I don't know whether she'd enjoy being my friend, though. I hate thinking pessimistically.

"_You'll soon find out why it's called the forest of death!" _Naruto imitated in a pathetic sing song voice, imitating her. Yeah, Naruto, go on like that and you'll never be able to imitate another person again! Because you'll be dead! "You really think that scares me?!" He shouted, "That's nothing! I'm not afraid!"

"Yeah," Anko said, "You're spirited."

I took a few frantic steps back to avoid the kunai that zipped by Naruto, cutting his cheek. Anko appeared from behind him, pulling him close and licking his cheek. When she does that, I thought, she looks like Orochomaru… better not say that and piss her off, though.

"Kids like you are quickly killed," she said, smirking. "Spraying that red blood I love…" Then she glanced to the left and I looked there too. I clenched my fist. There was the rain ninja… Orochomaru. I looked at Sasuke, although I don't know why. I know that he's safe right now, but still.

The rain ninja appeared right behind her (I'm seeing a pattern here, what about you?) holding out the kunai with 'her' long tongue. Naruto and I, where closest to it, widened our eyes in horror. If that alone doesn't give Orochomaru away then I don't know what does.

"Why thank you." Anko said, taking back the kunai. Orochomaru's tongue receded into his mouth. "But you know," Anko continued, "Don't sneak up on me like that… unless you want to die."

"No…" The rain nin said, "I just get excited when I see that red blood. Besides, you cut my precious hair, I couldn't help myself."

Yeah right, you transvestite! I wanted to yell. Big fat Oreo head! Hinata quivered and even Sakura looked suspicious. That's good; at least I'm not the only one who can see that this woman is a fraud. She's not even a woman!

"Sorry about that." Anko said. Then she smirked, "Looks like we have some blood thirsty ones in this test… this should be fun! Hehe…" she chuckled to herself. Yeah right, creepy lady! You're the most blood thirsty! Great… I thought, I have to be stuck with _her_? "Now!" she shouted to everyone, "before we start the second test there is something I need to pass out." She lifted up a stack of papers. Oh yeah… it's those papers that you have to sign so that she can't get sued if you are killed or injured. I don't know why someone would though, I mean, these kids _are_ ninja, it's there job to get injured. That's an exaggeration, just to let you know, but you know what I mean. "You must sign these agreement forms." She finished.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"There will be deaths in this one!" Anko laughed, "And if I don't have you sign these, it will all be my responsibility! I'm going to explain the second test, and then I'm going to pass these out for you to sign. Then each team will check into that booth behind me." She handed the stack of papers to Naruto, signifying that he should take on and pass it on. Along the way someone accidentally handed it to me, but I just passed it on. I'm not a participant and therefore Anko would get rightfully blamed if I was injured. "I'll now explain the second test," She said once everyone got one, "Simply put, you'll attempt the ultimate survival test. First I'll explain the area in which this test is taking place. Around Practice Arena NO. 44 are 44 locked gates. Forest, river and the tower are at the center. From the gates to the tower are about 10km. During the survival test in here you will be asked to complete a certain task. Using your many weapons and jutsu you will compete in a…" she glared at them. What's with exam proctors and glaring? "No rules scroll battle."

"Scroll?" someone from the crowd asked.

I hate obvious questions. Then again… it's only obvious because I know what happens… I'm ignoring that faint memory of being confused myself.

"Yes…" Anko said, "You will fight over these two scrolls, the "Heaven" and "Earth". There are 78 people here, meaning 28 teams. Half, thirteen, will get the heaven scroll, and half, thirteen, will get the earth scroll. To pass this test," she lifted the scrolls to her face in one hand, "Your team must make it to the tower with _both_ scrolls."

It truly is a genius assignment. A good way to weed out the weak ones.

"So thirteen teams will loose their scrolls," Sakura said, "Half the teams will definitely fail."

"But there's a time limit," Anko said, "This second test will last 120 hours, exactly five days."

"Five days!" Ino shouted.

"What about dinner!?" Choji practically screamed. That's actually kind of funny.

Dramatic pause while I try not to laugh and ruin the punch line.

"You're on your own," Anko sighed, "The forest is full of food, just watch out for man-eating beasts, poisonous insects, poisonous plants…" I shivered. This wasn't going to be fun especially since I can't even recognize a poisonous _mushroom_ or any _other_ plant much less… _anything_ else. "And thirteen teams passing is not likely. As the time goes on, the distance to the goal becomes longer, and the time to rest becomes shorter. And the area is crawling with enemies. You won't have much time to sleep." Remind me again why I volunteered? Oh wait… I was FORCED to do this! Or was I… damn my bad memory! I can't remember when I'm forced to do something or when I'm volunteering without realizing what I'm getting in to. For my sake, I'll just say I was forced. Sounds better.

"So not only will some fail by loosing the scroll," Anko continued, "But some will die from the harshness of the course." She lifted her hand so they could all see, "I'll now go over what can disqualify you." She pointed one finger, "First, those that don't make it to the tower within the time limit." Two fingers, "Second, those that lose a teammate or have teammate killed. As a rule, there is no quitting in the middle; you will be in the forest for five days. And one more rule, you must NOT look inside the scroll while you make it to the tower."

"What happens if you do?" Naruto asked, scrunching his face up as if imagining the worst. What's that? No more ramen for life? I resisted the urge to chuckle.

"There will be a surprise for anyone who does." Anko said, winking. Creepy. "A Chuunin will be asked to handle classified information, this is a test to test your trustworthiness. That is it for explanations," she said, "Exchange the three forms for your scroll. Then choose a gate and get ready for the start. And one more piece of advice. Don't die."

Formidable words.

One of the jounin or chuunin at the booth drew the curtain and yelled, "It's about time to exchange the scrolls."

"Great," I said, "This is where the fun begins."

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke gave a start, and then looked behind them and saw me. "Grace!" Naruto shouted, pointing at me, "What were you doing being a proctor for the exam?!"

I smiled apologetically, "Sorry I couldn't tell you, but the Hokage told me not to tell anyone. I'm a proctor for this one, too. I think," I frowned. "I'll have to talk to Anko about it."

Sasuke just gave me a look as to ask not just what but _why_. Understandable. I felt really bad lying to my friends, but it can't be helped. If I told them… they wouldn't understand.

"But I don't understand," Sakura said, "You're just a civilian, not a ninja. You don't even have ninja training, what good would you do being a ninja proctor?"

I frowned, but didn't find offence at her words. They were true after all, "I… know things that even ninja don't know. Not jutsu or anything, although I do know a lot of things that those who can weild them don't know about," like the Rasangan, "But more like… facts." I paused. How do I explain myself without giving myself away? They'd find out somehow anyway, "I'll explain everything to you guys after the Chuunin Exams." I said, "I'm too busy right now to explain anything." I waved goodbye and headed over towards Anko. When I reached her she grabbed my arm and pulled me behind the booth.

"Hey, kiddo!" she whispered, "Nice to see you back again!" she winked and then straightened, "So, you're going to be a proctor again, huh?" she looked me up and down, "Just be careful," she said, "You're not in very good shape… I'm not sure why the Hokage chose you. Anyway," she said, moving on when she noticed I was starting to get pissed, "I need to tell you a few things. First is that you should keep your transmissions on, unless you find it crucial for you to turn them off. When you say, reinforcements, including myself, will come and escort you out of the arena. Also," she said, "You should inform myself and the ninja at the other end of the transmissions when…" she stopped and I almost felt bad for being angry at her when I saw the tortured expression on her face, "When _he_ will arrive."

"I'll tell you when I notice it happening," I said, "I can't be sure before that." I blinked, "Oh yeah, Ibiki told me to give this to you." I handed her the message from Ibiki. She stared at for a moment, and ripped up the paper, an angry expression on her face.

"Regardless," she said, "I'm glad that Sasuke must make it. There are some things the Hokage wanted me to give you. Because you'll be out there and probably aren't good at finding food, here's this summoning scroll. There are lots of food in there and should supply you with food if you need it. However," She warned, "I wouldn't. Stuff like this will attract both animals and enemies." I nodded. Only for worst scenarios. "And the second thing is this," she handed me a pouch, "It's a kunai pouch. I know you probably don't know how to throw them, but they might come in use. This is the third thing," my eyes widened as she handed me a Earth scroll, "Just to ensure that your team makes it to the preliminaries." She turned and started walking away.

I took both scrolls, happy now. They weren't different. The Earth scroll of course white with blue edges, but the food summoning scroll was blue on the edges. What would I do?

"Oh," she said, looking over her shoulder, "That scroll, unlike the other ones it is a summoning scroll in a good way. Open it if you need immediate help, and ninja will be summoned." She winked, "Good luck."

I whimpered as she disappeared around the corner.

The scrolls looked exactly alike!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I ran to catch up with Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. I smiled and said, "I'm sorry if I'll hinder you but I have to come with."

"Why?" Sakura asked. Her eyebrows scrunched, trying to imagine why I would come. That too, I could understand. I didn't want to come either.

"Because," I said, "I'm a proctor within the exam. Unfortunately," I said, putting on a genuine apologetic face, "That will sort of hinder you since I can't even do that cool ninja jumping tree to tree monkey thing that you do."

"The way you say it," Sasuke said, "_I_ don't even know what you're talking about."

I frowned at him, "_Whatever_ emo-child." Naruto chortled at that. Great minds think alike. I blanched, never mind, I didn't just say that Naruto and I think alike! We don't think alike! We think totally differently! _I have a brain._

"Don't call me that." Sasuke snapped.

"Emo." I retorted.

"I'm not emo." His voice was getting louder. Ha! I thought, only a few more taunts and I might actually get the great Uchiha to have a temper tantrum. That would be soooo funny. The only problem is that I don't have a video camera.

"You're the definition of emo!" I shouted at him.

"You said that already." He snapped.

"No I didn't!" he was really starting to piss me off, the little chicken butt-head.

"Not today, you loser." He said, "You said it another time, don't you remember, or do you have so little of a brain that you can't even remember what you've said before?"

He's going to die…

"Don't call me a loser! You kissed a _guy_!" I screamed, pointing at him. I won.

Both he, Sakura and Naruto blanched. "How…" Sakura said, "Did you know about that…"

Naruto and Sasuke had those 'I really wish I was dead' expressions on their face.

"_It wasn't a kiss_!" Naruto shouted at me.

The proctor in front of our gate was really amused by all of this. At least someone other than me was amused. I was amused as soon as I realized that I won, instead of losing.

"Yes it was," I sneered, "I was full on the _lips_." I smacked my own lips to demonstrate.

"It wasn't a kiss." Sasuke growled.

"You enjoyed it." I snapped, "Didn't you, _emo-child_!?" Wow, I'm being so immature! It feels kind of good to be on Naruto's side of the world!

He glared at me, "_Stop calling me that_!"

I sighed, closing my eyes. I'd _never_ win with this guy. "Whatever, dude, you kissed a _guy_."

"It's almost time," the proctor at the gate said, preventing Sasuke from saying whatever he was about to. From the look that Sasuke gave me I knew that this subject wasn't over. I couldn't understand what he was so pissed about. Well, actually I could understand, I mean, imagine if your first kiss was with someone of your own sex when you're straight? Then again… what if Sasuke wasn't straight?! My worst nightmare came true! OMG! Sasuke is gay!

I don't know why I jumped to that conclusion. I'll have to test him and find out. It'll bug me. I don't know why, it's not that I don't like homosexual people, because that's not it at all, it's just that… Sasuke… I don't know why it matters so much to me that he's straight… of course, if he was straight most of my friends would be bitterly disappointed. They all believe he's gay.

I'll prove them wrong! Don't ask me how, because I really don't know…

"Hey, Grace!" Naruto said, "What's wrong, you're just staring off into space!"

I blinked out of my imaginary little world called 'Mind' and said, "Oh, sorry, I was just thinking." I gave Sasuke a pointed look.

"Almost time, you guys," the proctor said again.

Naruto turned toward the arena, "OK!" he shouted, "I WON'T LOOSE TO YOU BASTARDS!" he lifted his middle finger. Both Sakura and I punched him from opposite directions. Poor Naruto…

"THE SECOND EXAM OF THE CHUUNIN EXAMS!" Anko shouted. Wow, she can really project her voice, "WILL BEGIN!"

"OK!" Naruto shouted. Forget what I said about _Anko_ projecting her voice. "LET'S GO!"

The proctor quickly unlocked the door and team seven dashed through. I sighed and walked in after them. "Good luck," The proctor said, smiling, "I'll be here if you need me."

"Thanks," I said, downheartedly.

I was probably ten steps in when my team realized that I wasn't with them.

"Hey Grace!" Naruto said, appeared behind me, "Why are you so slow?"

I shrieked in surprise. "Naruto!" I shouted at him, "Don't do stuff like that!" I sighed when I noticed that Sakura and Sasuke where standing behind him. "I'm slow because, as I said before, and as you guys have pointed out, I'm not a ninja, I'm a regular person." I sighed yet again for the billionth time that day, "I'm sorry you guys. But to lighten the mood, or just to brighten things up, I have a gift for you guys from Anko for the end of the second exam."

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Let's just say," I said, "As long as you stick with me, there's no way you can fail this exam. As long as none of you get hurt, that is." I said.

"What, like you have another scroll or something?" Sakura asked.

I winked, "You'll just have to wait and find out." I said, "First things first, we need to get to the tower as fast as possible."

"What about the scroll?" Sakura asked, "We need to get another scroll first."

I frowned at her, "Yeah, whatever," I dismissed. "I think that we should follow the river. It will lead us straight to the tower, and we'll have no chance of getting lost. Another thing, beware of genjutsu. Naruto, I'm not going to leave this to you because you're an idiot." Naruto frowned, "Sasuke, Sakura, watch out for it and warn us even if you _think_ we _might_ be under genjutsu." They nodded. "Now," I said, "How am I going to get… anywhere?"

"I was thinking about that," Sakura said, "How will you be able to keep up with us?"

Sasuke sighed an exasperated sigh, and then walked in front of me, "Get on," he said.

"_What_?" I asked, "I'm not riding on you!"

"Come on," he said, "It won't slow me down, and it'll be the only way for you to keep up with us."

"I agree with Grace," Sakura said, a slightly defiant look on her face, "I don't think there's any use of you carrying her. Naruto," she said, turning to him, "What about you?"

I frowned at her. She's obviously jealous that Sasuke would be carrying me. She's such a strange little girl. Like I'd enjoy being carried by Sasuke in that way.

"Come on," Sasuke said impatiently, "I've carried you before, so it's not like I don't know what I'm doing."

"You carried her before?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah," I said, "A while ago. I was about to fall down the stairs—"

"You did fall down." Sasuke corrected.

I ignored him, "Anyway, I was at Sasuke's house—"

"You were at Sasuke's house?" Sakura asked with an almost angry look on her face. God, I angered the fan club. God only knows what would happen to me if Ino found out I saw Sasuke's house. I don't want to know…

"Yeah," I said, "It was a long story involving—"

"My personal belongings," Sasuke said, "I can't believe you thought I'd be tricked into _that_."

"How was I supposed to know that you were such a _clean freak_!" I yelled, "I have friends who are clean freaks and believe me, I've _never_ seen a bathroom so clean! Or a bedroom for that matter. Do you like, never sleep in that bed? Or do you just iron the blankets every day?"

"You saw his bathroom? His bedroom?" Sakura's voice was rising. I knew that I suddenly made a mistake. I've angered the president of the fan club… what was I going to do?! (Dramatic pause while I await my death… just kidding).

"Look, Sakura," I said, "Nothing funny, and it was all Naruto's fault."

I grinned as Sakura turned to Naruto with an angry expression on her face. She forgave me, I thought, and turned her malice on her next victim. "Now," I said, "I was escaping and I tripped down the stairs and Sasuke caught me before I hit the bottom."

"He caught you?" Sakura asked.

"That's what I just said, wasn't it?" I snapped, "Anyway, it was sort of funny," I grinned, "Because I had to pretend to…"

Both Sasuke and I coughed uncomfortably and then ignored the subject. I was going to say 'because I had to pretend to be attracted to Sasuke' but both of us were too awkward to say it. I quickly walked up to Sasuke. "I'm not sure how to get on…" I said. He was only about half a foot shorter than me, but still, it was pretty awkward. I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck and then jumped up, wrapping my legs around his waist. He grabbed my thighs to make sure that I didn't fall. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he was being a pervert or anything, that's just what you do when you're giving someone a piggy back ride… It still felt weird to have Sasuke Uchiha's hands so close to my ass. Sakura had a very jealous look on her face. I felt like smirking.

"That's as far as your hands go, Sasuke," I told him in a strict voice.

His head twitched and I knew that his face was going through annoyed spasms. I smirked again. "Ok, we should probably keep going. You guys can decide what we do, I'll just tag along."

They sprang into the air. I had a memory of being carried by Lee and my fear came back. I clutched as Sasuke tighter as he sped up, rising higher into the trees. I really hate heights… I saw Sasuke shift, so I was more comfortable. Then he descended a few branches. He must have noticed that I got uncomfortable the higher we got. We finally landed in a little clearing.

Suddenly there was a scream. I almost shrieked in surprise. They really shouldn't have let me go on this. Although blood and violence doesn't bother me on the big screen, it's a whole other thing in reality. Sasuke looked up in surprise towards the noise after setting me down on the ground.

"That was… a human scream, right?" Sakura asked, her voice quavering. "I'm… getting a little nervous."

"This… this is nothing Sakura," Naruto said, reassuringly. Or maybe he was just trying to show off. "I've… got to take a piss." He turned away from them, facing the bushes.

Sakura and I both had identical pissed off faces as we hit Naruto, "Not in front of a lady!" we yelled in unison.

"You guys are mean!" he whined. He rubbed his head.

"Do that in the bushes!" Sakura yelled. He stumbled into the bushes. Then she got this dreamy look on her face.

"And, Sakura," I said, turning to her, "I know what your thinking and even Sasuke isn't allowed to piss in front of a lady."

Sakura blushed. I hit a nerve. I'm soooo mean. Sasuke even flushed. Sakura glared at me, but I knew that she couldn't stay angry at me for long. I kind of guess that we are sort of friends. It felt sort of nice. I never really thought of Sakura and I ever being friends, but I feel like we'd get along. I smiled.

After a few moments Naruto came out, smiling, "Wow, so much came out that I spelled my name out on the—"

We hit Naruto again. Poor, poor Naruto. I actually, in this instance, don't feel bad for him. He's a gross fellow if he was really going to go pee in front of people, let alone girls. Then I realized that this wasn't Naruto.

I raised my fist, saying, "Naruto, you idiot!" Then I punched him right in the face, sending him backwards. I shook out my hand. It really smarted when you were really punching someone.

"What… Grace, what the hell?" Naruto asked, rubbing his head.

"You're not Naruto," I said.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He saw it too.

"What?" Sakura said, turning to Naruto. Her eyes widened as she saw that it wasn't Naruto sitting there but a rain nin.

"You found me out!" he said, standing up, "Unlucky! Which one of you has the scroll? Oh well," He lunged at them, "I'll just have to take it by force!"

I blinked and then dashed out of the way. I hurried into the bushes where I saw Naruto tied up on the ground. "Pathetic," I murmured, taking a kunai out of my pouch and sawing the ropes. I only had to do one before it was loose enough for Naruto to untie himself. "Hey," he said, "How did you know it was a fake ninja? How did you know where I was?"

"He was really bad," I said, laughing, "He didn't even have the cut on his face from where Anko cut you with her kunai." I frowned, "Speaking of which, you should really get some ointment on that. It might get infected."

I got up and Naruto did as well. I looked over my shoulder. "Sasuke is fighting with him right now," I said. "I guess…" we saw the ninja fly over us in the trees and disappear.

"He's running away!" Naruto shouted, "Let's go!"

I grabbed the neck of his jacket before he could do anything, "Wait, we shouldn't just run off. We need to go back to the others." He nodded grudgingly, and followed me back. Sasuke and Sakura looked up as we approached.

"He got away," Sasuke said.

"We know," I said, "We saw him."

"Yeah, Sasuke!" Naruto said, "How dumb do you have to be to let him go?!"

I smacked him on the head, "How dumb do you have to be to get caught doing pee?"

"Well—I…" He looked down at the ground and didn't say anything.

We sat in a circle and Sasuke said, "If we get separated next time, even if it's one of us, don't trust them, this could happen again."

"Then what do we do?" Sakura asked.

"Have a code or something," I said, "Something that only we know." I resisted the urge to glance in Orochomaru's direction. I knew that he was listening in.

"Listen," Sasuke continued, "If they get the code wrong, we'll know that they aren't one of us. Assume that they're one of the enemies no matter what they look like. Listen carefully; I'll only say it once. The nin song, "Nin Machine". When this is asked, answer with:

"'A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill prepared.'"

"Ok!" Sakura said enthusiastically.

"What the hell?" I said, "That's impossible to remember!"

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted, "Took the words right out my mouth, Grace!" He pointed at Sasuke, "Are you trying to get me look like an enemy!?"

"I'll hold the scroll." Sasuke said.

We stood up. I knew what was coming.

"Ouch!" Naruto exclaimed as something slashed by his cheek.

"Watch out!" I shouted.

"More enemies?" Sasuke shouted.

"Get out of the way!" I shouted, pushing Naruto away from me.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted, running up to her.

"Sasuke!" Sakura squealed.

Sasuke brandished a kunai, "Stay back, first the code-word, the nin song "Nin Machine."".

"Oh yeah!" Sakura said, "'A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill prepared."

Sasuke lowered his kunai. "Good." He said.

"Hey guys!" Naruto said, running up to them, "Hey, where's Grace? Good thing that she pushed me out of the way…" he glanced down at the large skid marks on the ground, "Who knows what would have happened if she didn't… oh no!" he exclaimed, "What if she was hit by whatever jutsu or whatever it was!"

"First the code," Sasuke said.

"Well… let's see…" Naruto thought for a moment, "Uh… it was about… machines… um… ninja wait in night for… enemies…. I can't remember anything more!" he laughed uneasily, backing up, "But—it's really me!" he said, raising his hands.

Sasuke lowered his kunai, "I know."

"But he didn't get the password right!" Sakura said.

"This is Naruto," Sasuke said, "He, like Grace, won't be able to remember the code word. If Naruto were really an enemy ninja who listened in, they would say it all. Naruto didn't even remember after a few seconds after I told him."

"That's right…" Sakura said, raising an exasperated eyebrow, "Sometimes, Naruto—"

Grace ran up to them, her hair flopping over her face. It had somehow gotten out of her headband that she now held in her hand. "Hey guys are you ok?" she skidded to a stop in front of them as all three brandished kunai. "Oh," she said, "Yeah… the code word, let's see…" she thought for a moment, "'A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill prepared.'" She grinned, "There you see—"

She was thrust into the air. Sasuke had kicked her under the chin, and then round housed her, causing her to fly in the air and away from them. She landed with a crash a few meters away.

"What the—she said the password!" Naruto yelled angrily.

"Grace isn't a shinobi," he said, "Besides; she wouldn't be able to remember something like that. You remember what she had said."

"_What the hell?" Grace said, "That's impossible to remember!"_

"Oh yeah…" Sakura and Naruto said.

Grace sat up, her arms shaking with pain as she wiped blood from her chin. She glared up at them, "I hate it when people think I'm retarded just because I'm not like them," she muttered. "I am Grace you idiot!"

Sasuke smirked, "Like I'll fall for that one."

He did the tiger sign, taking a deep breath of air.

"Wait!" she shouted, frantic, "It really is me!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ooooh cliffy! Not really but whatever. Is it Grace or not?! You'll just have to wait and find out!

Thanks for reading,

- fUnKyToEs


	16. The Chuunin Exams: Part V

She put up her hands in defense

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Chuunin Exams: Part V _(Chapter sixteen)_

WORDS: 6,767 words

DISCLAIMER: I'm afraid I forgot to do this for the last few chapters… I'm so ashamed… off with my head! No… I didn't mean that. Point is that I don't own Naruto. (But I do own the show—just kidding!) I hate writing disclaimers, it makes me so depressed. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!

REVIEWERS: I luv you….

_**Inscapeperil**_: Ok, were you drunk when you wrote that or where you really, really, really, really, really, really tired? Because I don't understand a word of it… I really don't... but thanks for the effort.

_**XXBlackfireXX:**_ Thank you! I updated! Thanks for the review!

_**Kitkatyobaril-chan: **_Thanks for the review, yeah, you'll find out whether it's a clone or not in this chapter, obviously. Actually in the first paragraph…

_**Uzura-chan**_: I have the memory of a fish (five seconds) so I can sympathize with you. You should post a story! I would totally read it!! If you need help on posting it I can help you if you want.

_**Dragoink**_**: **Thank you Goinkie! I have no idea where that came from… anyway! Thanks for the review!

_**Pandastacia:**_ Yeah, Grace isn't as dumb as Naruto and she would be pissed if Sasuke thought that… Yeah, she goes with them so she can keep an eye on Sasuke… but you'll see what happens. Yeah, Sakura did get kind of pissed over Sasuke and Grace having more 'alone' and 'intimate' time together… but that's what you'd expect from his number one fan! Anyway, thanks for the review! (you kept your name XD)

NORMAL BLAH: (of de blah)

Well, I updated within a week! Kudos to me! Anyway, this chapter is a little bit of a disappointment for me only because I don't feel like it covers enough ground, but it's necessary and I had to stop it sometime because it was getting too long for my attention span… more stuff will happen during chapter seventeen (wow, seventeen chapters, it's scary to think about how many chapters it will be when it's finished… I don't want to think about it…). Just see this one as a "…" I forgot what I was about to say… (I had to go outside to turn off the hose). Anyway, just see this chapter as a leading chapter into the next one. Things really start happening (plot wise I think) in that one. I hope.

Anyway, enjoy this chapter! I worked really hard on revising to make up for it's horribleness… I don't think I did a good job, however… anyway, enjoy! I say anyway a lot…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

She put up her hands in defense. "Sasuke I swear it's me!" She was staring at him with panicked eyes. Was he really going to attack? Or was it a fake?

He smirked, "Ok, imposter, show yourself!"

She scowled at him. "I see you're going to be impossible like the good little emo-child you are." She said, sighing. She didn't have the energy to push herself up, so she just sat back. Sasuke's arm faltered as he slowed his arm, preventing his kunai from being released. His eyebrows narrowed. _How…_ he was confused, _Is it really Grace?_

"I don't know…" she hesitated, "How I can prove myself to you…"she didn't speak for a moment, "Don't you remember that day… a while back. I wanted to go shopping and you were the first person I saw… remember? You picked out that really nice white dress for me and then paid for it because I left you at the store without paying for it?"

His eyes widened and his arm dropped, sagging.

"See, you bastard!" Naruto snapped, running up to Grace, "Hey, are you hurt? That was a hard kick." She nodded and shook slightly as Naruto gingerly helped her up. "Hey, Sakura!" he called out, "Do you have a med-kit? We should probably see to this cut on her chin and cheek."

"Ah—yeah!" Sakura said, snapping out of shock and ran over to them, "Are you ok?" she asked. "Naruto, put her back down!" Naruto grumbled about not being appreciated and set Grace back down.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I winced in pain as Naruto and Sakura eased me to the ground. I'm telling you, I have a new respect for ninja. To be able to deal with kicks like that and keep fighting… they must be made of steel! Of course, Sasuke really hit me hard. I could barely move my arms and legs, that's how exhausted I am. As for my mouth… I spat some blood out, coughing slightly. I shouldn't have talked that much in this condition. Damn, I hate not being able to take kicks like that! I feel like a… regular citizen… sigh, now is NOT the time to remind me that that's all I really am right now. The point is… why can't this be a regular Mary Sue and I have extraordinary powers right from the beginning? It's not fair I tell you… it's not fair…

"I'm not very good at this," Sakura apologized, "Just the basic Academy training." She smiled at me. "Can you lift your chin up?"

I nodded and strained my very, very, very sore and tight neck up. It hurt a lot, and not just from the massive bruises I'll have on my neck, chin and cheek, but also from the tensed muscles. There was also a cut, but that wasn't that bad. I could barely feel it over the other pain. "Whoa, Grace," Naruto exclaimed, "You'll have an impressive bruise, you're already practically black and blue!" I tried to glare at him but I was in too much pain to put the effort in.

That's one of the few things I always criticized about the story Naruto… how come the ninja always get beat up and never really have anything to show for it? I mean, I know that they are ninja and therefore must learn how to take blows and everything… but really, they should show _some_ things. Look at me; I think my neck is swelling up. Great, _another_ reason for Sasuke to laugh at me…

I tried to grin but my lip cracked. I didn't even realize that his foot hit my mouth. Sakura gently applied some ointment to my bruise and I yelped in pain. It didn't sting, that would come when she took care of the cut, but my bruises were so tender and sore that just her fingers breezing across it felt almost as bad as Sasuke's kicking me.

"Sorry," Sakura said, her eyebrows turned up with worry, "I told you I wasn't very good…"

"That's ok," I mumbled, "It'll be better later."

"Yeah, this ointment will make you feel better. It might hurt after a while though, so don't talk or jerk your head. Especially jerking your head, you want to relax those muscles. If we were not in the exam you'd have to go to the hospital. You'd probably get a neck-brace, to make sure you don't add more injury to those muscles. You're lucky you didn't sprain anything." I didn't even try to smile, not that I wasn't thankful, I was just tired. It takes a lot out of you when you get the shit beaten out of ya'. She also didn't realize what I had meant, but that was better. I forgot not to let anything slip about the future. Glad she misinterpreted me.

"Oh, and by the way," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper so the boys didn't hear her, "About that shopping incident? You better explain yourself after the exams," her eyes had turned cold. I shuddered at the thought of Sakura _and_ Ino finding out that Sasuke had picked out a dress for her. They would probably kill me, I thought despairingly. Oh well, I'll think about that later.

When she was done I felt like a greasy monkey. Just a saying, you know, when you put on too much sunscreen? Only this time I was a very _pained_ greasy monkey. Regardless, I'm just glad that Sasuke didn't throw that kunai at me. They would have found out the hard way that I wasn't a ninja.

Speaking of Sasuke… I looked up. He was still standing there, looking shocked. Was he that upset about it? I leaned on Naruto while Sakura took my other side, helping me. Apparently she didn't trust Naruto not to jerk me. Sasuke blinked at me. "I—I'm…" he started. I suppose he's not used to apologizing.

"Hey," I whispered, because that was less painful, "Don't worry about it." I smiled. "I think I can walk on my own, thank you," I said to Naruto. They looked unconvinced, but stepped away anyway. I took a step and found to my delight that I could walk. "Good," I breathed. "Now what am I going to do about traveling?"

Sakura and Naruto looked pensive.

"I could carry you," Naruto suggested.

"Didn't you hear me?" Sakura said, smacking his head, "She can't be jostled! Not until she gets medical care. Grace," She turned to me, "I really think that you should remove yourself. You really need to get those bruises looked after. It's not bad for a ninja, but for someone who doesn't know how to dodge or take a blow, that was a serious kick and you could be very injured."

I nodded. I _really _wanted out. I really wanted this pain to go away and to just sleep where I don't have to worry about little kids running about in the jungle. "Yeah," I said, reaching, without turning my head of course, into the kunai pouch and fingering the summoning scroll, "That's probably a good—" Then I stopped. The whole reason I wasn't as reluctant as I could be was because I wanted to keep an eye on Sasuke. If I removed myself not only would I not be able to watch after Sasuke but I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on the exam. "I can't, actually," I lied, "I have to stay in."

"But you're not even a shinobi!" Sakura exclaimed, "Why would they put a civilian into a dangerous exam and not even let you out? That's outrageous!"

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, "That seems a little strange. _Why _exactly are you even here?"

They all peered up at me. The key word is _up._ Why am I scared of three midgets who are all short, which brings me back to another thing I don't understand about the show… why is everyone so _short_? They're in eighth grade and they're not even five feet tall yet. It's sad… so sad… I mentally slapped myself, off topic!

Great.

Peer pressure.

I hate that.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I'm not allowed to answer you." My lips twitched apologetically. See, I have to resort to _twitching_ during my time of pain. Oh no… now I'm resorting to self-pity…

"Then that settles it," Sasuke said, "Sakura, we need to make a brace for Grace—"

"Haha that rhymes!" Naruto laughed. They glared at him and then Sasuke continued.

"—So that her neck gets the least damage as possible while traveling. I'll carry her again," he looked at me, "I promise I'll be gentle. We'll have to go slowly so that we don't cause any harm."

"You guys don't have to do all that," I said.

"I'm not doing it for you," Sasuke said, "It'll slow us up if we walk and you're too stubborn to turn back and leave."

I glared at him. As soon as I thought that Sasuke might _actually_ have a heart and be nice he turns around and slaps you in the face. Or in my case _kicks_. Multiple times. I guess I should have guessed that he is the egotistical jerk he always is. Why did I lead myself to think we'd be friends? He obviously doesn't care about me… He glared back, as if challenging me to rebuke his words, but I didn't. It was true, every word he said about me being stubborn, just for different reasons that he knew.

"Yeah," I said, "Whatever." He glared once more and then turned abruptly and walked away, apparently looking for something to make a brace out of.

They ended up making this weird brace out of this weird jell packs that reminded me of ice packs, just not cold. It was an odd assortment of stuff and I even think a few sticks were thrown in as well. That was Naruto, which earned him a punch in the face from Sakura. Regardless, it hurt putting on the make shift brace but afterwards it was well worth the pain. It still hurt like hell but it wasn't as bad as it was before. Like a small pebble was taken off my back. Or face is probably closer to the mark. I climbed onto Sasuke (that sounds so wrong) and held on, a little tighter than before. Personally, the only reason I'm not strangling him right now is the fact that if he dies and falls, than I'm a dead woman. Other than that… there is no other thing… damn my fish memory. He held on like before, but more firmly this time, as if to make sure that I was firmly on. He jumped into the trees and I closed my eyes, trying to prepare for the pain that would come when my head snaps up from the momentum but it didn't come.

Sasuke was true to his words. I noticed that he took careful precaution whenever jumping to another branch and would always land as softly as he could. It made me feel almost bad for hating him for a moment back there. He obviously was trying very hard not to hurt me. Wah… he's so confusing. He really is emo…

He stopped in a clearing, taking a few steps to lessen the jolt. I still yelped, because the impact was still painful. He set me gently on the ground. "Rest here. Naruto, you go get something to eat and Sakura go with him. I'll stay here and get firewood." They nodded and disappeared.

"Stay here," he said, walking out of the clearing, "I won't be far. Shout if you need me." He disappeared into the trees.

I sighed, slowly laying down so I was laying on my back. It was still painful but the pain was less when I didn't have to hold it up. I closed my eyes and waited for Sasuke to return.

It was so quiet and peaceful; I didn't even have time to think before I could feel myself drifting into a drowsy sleep. I heard a twig snap near my head.

"Sasuke…" I murmured, fighting sleep to wake up so I could help him set up the fire.

"So…" Sasuke said, appearing next to me, "You're finally awake?" he smirked.

"Finally?" I asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He smiled, "You've been sleeping for a while." The fire had started. But the sun was almost in the same spot as it was when Sasuke first left, is he really that fast at collecting firewood? But that wasn't even the thing that caught my attention. Sasuke was…_smiling_. He never smiles. Did I do something funny in my sleep? "Did I do something funny?" I asked.

He looked confused, "What?" he said, "No."

"Then why are you smiling?" I said, "Oh, it must be my face, huh?" I pointed at my neck. "Is it really that bad?"

He shook his head, "No, it doesn't. I was smiling because you're so cute in your sleep." He smile broadened shyly, "I should have woken you up earlier but I… wanted to watch you sleep… you look so peaceful." He looked away, a slight blush appearing on his cheek.

I stared at him with wide eyes, and felt my cheeks heat up. "W—what?" I said "What are you…" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Sasuke that I was… _cute?_ How was that even possible. "What are you talking about, Sasuke?"

He leaned towards me, "I was just too shy to say so before, especially in front of the others, that's why is sent them away, so we could be alone." He kept coming in.

I stared, too shocked to move. Was this… was this for real? Is Sasuke really… does he really like me? How… is this how my first kiss is going to be? But… I don't want my first kiss to be…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto grumbled as he picked up a fruit, "Hey, Sakura, is this ok?"

Sakura peered over, "No, you idiot, I told you three times already that those are _not_ ok!" she smacked him on the head, "We need to get perfect food for Sasuke and Grace." She said with a dreamy expression.

"You mean Sasuke," Naruto said bluntly.

Sakura blushed, "I—well, yes." She said.

"You know something?" Naruto said, picking of a rock and throwing it into the water of a stream near them, "Have you ever noticed that Sasuke… you know."

Sakura gave him a look, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Naruto."

"Well, you know how…" he paused, how would he say it? It' been bugging him for ages, and only because… _they_ themselves didn't realize, "Sakura, do you think Sasuke likes Grace?"

Sakura stopped abruptly. She slowly turned to Naruto, "What…" she paused, "What do you mean? I don't think that Sasuke likes Grace…"

Naruto just gave her a pointed look, "I might be a stupid naïve person sometimes, but at least I'm not stubborn. Come on, Sakura, you must see it too. They might not notice it themselves, but… and it's probably not _love_ and he might not even see her that way, it's just… he… I've never actually seen him _happy_ other then the times that he's been with her. Grace told me, a while ago, that she actually managed to make him _laugh_. I don't really know what it means, but, I do know one thing." He looked at Sakura, "She makes him _happy_."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I was too shocked to move backward. Sasuke's hands gently cupped my cheek, bringing my face in closer. What… wha—what is going on?! My eyes widened as his face leaned in for the kill. Was this…

"Stop," I said.

"You know you want it, too," he said in a husky whisper that so many girls love.

"I said, _stop_, Orochomaru." I said.

Sasuke stopped, his lips moments away from mine. His hand tightened around my cheek. I cried out as he squeezed my fresh bruises. His hand that cupped my cheek pushed out, sending me flying. He stood up, a cruel expression on his face, "How did you know it was me?" he asked, and then in a puff of smoke he disappeared and was replaced by Orochomaru. "How did you know it was me and not Sasuke?"

"Because," I said, tears coming out of my eyes with pain. I pushed myself up, my arms shaking from the effort, "he would never… advance on me like that."

Orochomaru smirked, "Really, and what makes you say that?"

"Because," I said, and almost choked as I pushed myself into a sitting position, "Sasuke doesn't like me that way." Orochomaru looked almost relieved, and then his smirk returned, "Really, he doesn't like you that way, then you are very _close_ friends, huh?"

"Not really," I said, "I don't think he even likes me that much."

His eyebrows hunched.

I can't believe I'm _actually_ having a conversation with Orochomaru. "Why are you here," I said.

"I've come for my prize." He said, smiling in that pedophile creepy way that he's famous for. "And I don't want you to get in my way, little girl." He turned away and began walking in the direction Sasuke went.

My eyes widened and I scooted away from him, "I'm not going to let you get Sasuke!" I said, "He isn't yours to take!"

He froze, turning to me, "How did you…"

"I know a lot about you, Orochomaru," I said, "And I know a lot about what you're going to do, and I'm telling you, Sasuke will only kill you in the end! Yes, he'll go to you for power but he… he'll eventually become too strong! He'll eventually become stronger than Itachi and even stronger than you and you'll become helpless against him. Don't you see?! No matter how much you desire him or whatever shit it is that you want, no matter how much you want or need the sharingan it doesn't matter, you'll never get it!"

He stared at me, and then said, "How do you know this?"

I froze, did I say too much?

"With someone who knows so much," he said, darkly, "It's a shame that you must stay in this pitiful village." He advanced on me, "You're too dangerous to even keep alive." He stood in front of me, only a foot away. "How much do you know?" he glared down at me.

"I…" I whimpered, "I… I don't know anything."

I cried out as his hand whipped out and cut my chin, pulling me up. He held me in the air like that, "You'll answer me if you want to live," he growled. I shook my head, biting my lip to hold out the tears and outbursts of pain. He slapped my face. I cried out then, not able to hold back to pain and fear.

He dropped me and then kicked my face, then my stomach, "You little girl, should I just kill you now?" he crouched my me.

I wasn't even paying attention.

I curled up, trying to pretend he didn't exists. Trying to pretend that he wasn't there. My hand reached for the kunai pouch, where the summoning scroll was. I was really regretting having turned off my receiver bug ear thing a while back. He grabbed my wrist and jerked it upward. I heard and felt it snap and screamed the first name that came to my mind.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke had quite the pile of wood in his arms. He was pleased with himself. He only hoped that Naruto and Sakura collected enough food. _We are used to not eating a lot on missions, but Grace isn't…_ he frowned, his eyebrow twitched, _she's such a glutton…_ He smiled though, remembering the many times he had to pay for her extravagant meals, all of which she claimed never to have tasted before, and many of them she ended up not taking more than a bite, saying that it was 'too foreign' for her to eat. What was that supposed to mean? He chuckled evilly to himself at one memory he convinced Grace to try something with her eyes closed. He shook his head. That was the day that he found out that she despised sea food, especially squid, more than anything.

"SASUKE!" An agonized scream echoed throughout the forest.

Sasuke felt as though his insides were wrenched out.

"Grace!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Orochomaru's eyes widened as he dodged a kunai, dropping Grace and jumping back a few meters. He looked up to see the younger Uchiha standing on a branch._ To creep up on me like that…_ he thought. He took a stance, looking up at Sasuke, "And you must be the great Sasuke Uchiha, hm?"

"Get away from her!" Sasuke growled. His sharingan was activated and his face told Orochomaru that he was pissed.

Orochomaru frowned. He didn't expect to get this kind of reaction from the younger Uchiha. Of course, he expected Sasuke to protect Grace, they were traveling together and seemed to know each other relatively well, but…_ This could prove to be useful…_ he thought. _Yes, I'll just play along, shall I?_ he smirked, _although it does surprsie_ "If you don't want me to hurt the pitiful girl, then make me, O great Uchiha!" he laughed and threw another kunai at the almost unconscious girl. Sasuke dashed in front of her. Whipping out a kunai he blocked the one Orochomaru threw. They looked up to see two people rapidly approaching.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto and Sakura tore out of the woods. "We heard a scream—ah!" Sakura doubled back at the sight of the Rain nin and the state of Grace, "Sasuke what happened?!" she shouted, "Why…"

Naruto was staring at Grace. He slowly turned his head towards the rain nin, "You son of a bitch!" he yelled, "I'm going to kill you!"

"Sakura!" Sasuke said, "Get Grace out of her, protect her in case someone goes after her!"

Sakura nodded and ran over to Grace, "Come on," she whispered and picked her up, leaping into the trees to get out of there as fast as possible.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, "Let's take this bastard out! Come on! Shadow clone jutsu!" Four clones appeared and they dashed toward the Rain nin. Rain nin giggled and drew a long dagger, stabbing all the clones before they could reach him.

"Damn it!" Naruto yelled as he appeared right next to Sasuke, "He killed all my clones!" he frowned, "Is this really the same Rain nin from before the test? You mean she was a he?"

"It was a jutsu of some type," Sasuke said. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

The Rain nin drew out a Earth scroll. "Now," He said, and pushed the scroll into his mouth, swallowing it whole, "I have the Earth scroll, and you have the Heaven scroll," He grinned at them, showing all of his teeth.

"That's gross!" Naruto interrupted, making a face.

The Rain nin ignored him. He was staring at Sasuke, "Let the battle for the scrolls begin." He reached up to his face, pulling at the skin to reveal a blood shot yellow eye, "With our lives on the stake."

Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widened. They yelled out as they were stabbed with kunai in the forehead. Blood splurged everywhere. They sat there, gasping as they stared at the Rain nin.

Sasuke blinked. _Genjutsu?_ He gulped, trying to awaken himself, draw himself out. He threw up on the ground. Naruto was still staring at the Rain nin, but not for long. He too began to shake as if trying to get free from invisible hands. _No… it's just fear,_ Sasuke thought, _The killing intent in his eyes is just making us envision our own death._

His eyes widened, _Who is this guy_?!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sakura landed as softly as she could. Grace was still crying. Sakura laid her on the ground and examined her wounds. They weren't great. There was a cut on her arm from a kunai, but it wasn't bad. She better deal with it, though. Also… she glanced at Grace's face, _that rain nin must have hit her really badly, the movement even broke the brace we made…_ she gritted her teeth in anger as she, as gently as she could, smeared more of the soothing ointment on the bruises. _Why did that guy attack Grace? She's not even a participant. I hope Sasuke and Naruto hurt him really badly_…

"COME ON!" A very loud voice yelled somewhere nearby, "IF WE HURRY WE CAN BE THE FIRST ONE'S TO REACH THE TOWER!" there was excited movement about ten meters away in the trees. Sakura froze.

The voice seemed very familiar. Where had she heard it before?

The movement in the trees stopped. It wasn't far from her. Sakura took out a kunai, ready to throw if anyone approached.

"Stop talking so loudly," a voice snapped, "Everyone in this forest can probably hear you."

"Neji's right, Lee," a girl's voice said, exasperated, "The whole point is _not_ being found."

"And why shouldn't we go and—"

"Silence," The second voice cut in.

Sakura gripped the kunai harder, so they know she's here, huh? Well, she gritted her teeth again, she'll give them a run for their money.

"I'm right behind you," said the second voice, "Drop your weapon or—" the voice stopped abruptly.

She spun around to look up at a Hyuuga, but the Hyuuga was looking at her, but beyond her, at Grace. His eyes were furrowed and he just stared as if not believing what he was seeing. A girl with two dark brown buns in her hair appeared next to him, "Neji, what are you…" she turned, "Hey, isn't that—Grace!" she said, "What happened—"

"GRACE!" Lee screamed, landing on his knees next to her, "OH MY MOST BELOVED! OH THE STAR IN THE MY DARK NIGHT! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU!?" he reached out to pull her into an embrace. Neji, Tenten and Sakura jumped to restrain him.

"You idiot!" Tenten grunted, "She obviously in a very critical condition!"

Lee calmed down. "You!" he said, pointing at Sakura, "Who did this to Grace? Who _is_, by the way, Neji, my _girlfriend_." Neji looked like he disagreed but didn't press the matter. He turned to Sakura.

"Where are your team?" he asked Sakura, "And who did this to this girl?"

"I just asked that!" Lee said. "And don't call _my_ girl 'this girl'!" he glared at Neji, but the Hyuuga just ignored him. He seemed very good at that. _Wait a sec…_ Sakura thought, _Didn't Grace one time mention a Hyuuga… was this the one who gave her lessons once? _

"Did you ever give Grace kunai throwing lessons?" She asked Neji.

Neji got a very, very, _very,_ annoyed expression on his face, "I don't want to talk about it," then he turned to Lee, "And I'm restating it," Neji snapped at him, obviously referring to the fact that he had indeed restated the question that Lee had asked Sakura. He looked intensely at Sakura. "You are Sakura Haruno, am I right?" he asked.

"Yes." Sakura said, "How did you know?"

"I heard your team mates and Grace mention it while at the registration for this exam. Again, I ask, where are your team and the one who attacked you?"

Sakura hesitated, but then chanced it. They were Leaf nin after all, and as far as she could tell, friends. After all, they obviously new Grace, and Tenten and Lee were obviously fond of her. She wasn't sure of the Hyuuga, but that didn't matter. "They are about two tenths of a kilometer away," she said, "Grace was attacked by a Rain nin, and Sasuke and Naruto are fighting him." She said, "She already had the bruises though, although I'm not sure what the Rain nin did to add to them."

"Why did she already have bruises?" Tenten asked.

"…" Sakura felt slightly embarrassed, "Well, Sasuke thought she was an enemy ninja so he attacked her…" she looked down. _She_ was even ashamed that she thought Grace was an enemy. She should have known better than to believe Sasuke and think Grace was too dumb to know the password.

"WHAT?!" Lee said, "Then I shall hunt _him_ down with the revenge of the—"

Neji pushed Lee's head into the ground, muffling him. "I would ask why a civilian is taking part in the exam, but there are more important things to attend to. Tenten, you stay here with Sakura and guard Grace, I see she's of some importance to this test, as she was also an examiner for the first exam. Lee, you come with me, but _behave_ yourself. Do as I say."

There was a muffled 'yes' from the dirt. Neji lifted his hand and Lee shot up, punching the air, "Let's go!" he said. Neji nodded and they disappeared. Tenten watched them go and sighed.

"They never let me go with them," she complained, "But I guess I'm as much help here," she glanced at Sakura, "I'm Tenten by the way," she offered her hand. Sakura took it and smiled.

"Sakura."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Byuukagen!" Neji shouted. Immediately he focused on the battle not far ahead. "There's an immense source of chakra ahead." He told Lee. They broke out of the trees and landed behind Sasuke. Naruto was still trying to get at the Rain nin with Shadow Clones.

Sasuke grabbed a kunai but Lee stopped him with his hand, "No, for now, we are allies," he said, "We have come to kill the one who hurt Grace." Sasuke blinked in surprise. Neji sighed in exasperation at Lee's outburst.

"As Leaf ninja it is our obligation to not only help other Leaf ninja, but a civilian was harmed by a shinobi from another village." Neji explained.

Sasuke glanced at him, so this was the Hyuuga Grace had mentioned a while back. He could see why she didn't like him. He's _exactly_ the kind of person that Grace wouldn't get along with.

"Very well then," Sasuke said, "Follow our movements, if you have any ideas, don't say anything out loud in case it alerts the enemy—"

"We did graduate a year before you," Neji said, "We have more experience as ninja."

Sasuke would have protested had it not been for the loud pissed Naruto nearby. He nodded and then motioned for them to follow Naruto. Lee nodded and dashed out, disappearing for a moment to appear behind the Rain nin. He aimed a flying side kick at him but he dodged out of the way. Too late. He barely missed a punch from Naruto.

He leapt into the trees, and was absorbed into it.

"What?!" Lee exclaimed as he and Naruto landed on the ground, "Where is he?"

"How did he do that?" Naruto asked, "Substitution jutsu?"

"Byuukagen!" Neji said. Instantly he looked at the tree, "No, he's still in there, it's a different jutsu. You've seen them before, I'm sure." He said, turning to Naruto. Naruto gave him a hazed look.

"Yeah, sure," Naruto bluffed.

"He's coming out!" Neji warned.

He emerged from the tree, only part of him and slithered like a snake over it to stare at them, his long tongue dripping and hanging from his mouth. He giggled again, "Looks like you have some help here…. Sasuke," he said, sliding forward again. "But I don't think they'll be of much help."

"Hey! Hey!" Naruto yelled, "It looks like you were picking on the weak! Why would you attack a civilian!?" His fists were clenched.

"Because, _brat_," he said, "She's annoying, besides," he glanced at Sasuke, "She's more useful to me alive, so I wasn't going to kill her, just make her frightened enough to do my _bidding_."

"You monster!" Naruto yelled.

"You have no idea how true that is…" he said, and then he shot out of the tree, aiming for Sasuke. The Genin didn't have time to be shocked. Neji jumped up, "Lee!" he shouted.

"Yes!" Lee said, and he and Naruto jumped up.

"Shadow Clone jutsu!" Naruto said, attacking him with it. It kept the Rain nin occupied while Lee aimed a kick at the back base of her neck. Naruto then kicked up at the same time under her chin. The Rain nin went flying and then landed on the ground.

"If you think that simple kicks like that," he spat out a little blood, "Will do me in than you're in for a surprise, little brats!"

"No," Naruto shouted, "You're in for the surprise!"

The Rain nin's eyes widened as he turned his head, only to see Neji advancing on him. "Sixteen Palms!" he shouted, making a hand sign and then attacking, hitting the rain nin at sixteen chakra points, "Thirty two palms! Sixty four palms!" he managed to leap away from him. Unfortunately, this was exactly what Neji wanted.

"Katon!" Sasuke shouted from right behind him. Neji, Lee and Naruto jumped back out of the way as flame enveloped the Rain nin. Sasuke then jumped into the air and landed next to them.

"That was amazing!" Lee said, punching the air.

"Yeah!" Naruto said, "We totally got him!"

The figure stumbled slightly, and then bent over, gasping for air, he looked up to glare at them, "Hehe…" he laughed slightly, a little out of breath, "You really are naïve, aren't you?"

"What?" Lee said, "You hit her with your Gentle Fist, Neji!"

Neji's eyes furrowed. "He is not a Genin, Lee, his movements are that of a Jonin, or greater….however, we still got him with full on attacks…"

Sasuke also frowned.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Naruto screamed at the guy, "WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU DEAD YET?"

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, "Stop that, she's obviously stronger than we anticipated—" he was cut off by laugh.

Neji stared at the Rain nin with his byuukagen activated, "It's… there's an immense source of chakra inside of her, more than before, I think…"

"What?!" Naruto said, "That's not fair…"

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped, "And get up like a real ninja," but he just said that so he could ignore his own shaking knees. What _was_ this ninja? The Rain nin laughed. Naruto took an alarmed step back, and even Neji's eyes widened with a sense of fear.

"Sasuke," the ninja said, "You are mine." He shot out his neck and his head zoomed towards Sasuke. Sasuke gasped as the sharp teeth of the ninja sunk into his skin. That wasn't even the most painful part. His entire body quivered with pain as something _entered_ his body, burning every fiber. The ninja let go and his neck receded to his body as fast as it had come, "My name is Orochomaru, seek me out, avenger." He disappeared.

"What was that all about?" Lee asked.

Sasuke clutched his shoulder, and threw up in pain as he tried, failing, to hold back the agonizing sreams.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I opened my eyes slightly. "What going—" I was hit with extreme light and then it was blocked out by something pink.

"Shhh…" Sakura said, "Don't talk, we're not done putting on the ointment yet."

"We?" I asked. Please don't tell me Sasuke or Naruto isn't doing this, it's embarrassing enough. Speaking of Sasuke…. I thought back to when I woke up and Orochomaru had taken the place of Sasuke. What was that all about? Did he seriously think that would work? Maybe if it were Lee or something I'd believe that it was real, not that I would enjoy it or anything, but, what would make Orochomaru think that Sasuke would like me that way? I don't even think he likes me as a friend! Regardless… I grinned sheepishly. Sakura gave me an annoyed look. Tenten appeared in front of my face, "Hiya!" she said, "That's a lot of nasty blows you have to your face, you _really_ should remove yourself and get proper medical care, no offence, Sakura," she said, turning to Sakura. Sakura smiled.

"No offence taken!'

I frowned. This is a peculiar change of events. Sakura and Tenten becoming friends… who would have suspected that? "Where's… Naruto and Sasuke?" I asked.

"They're fighting that ninja that attacked you," Tenten said, "Neji and Lee went also—"

"_What?!_" I yelled, trying to sit up, "No! No you have to be wrong! I was supposed to _stop_ that from happening! I was supposed to_ stop_ Sasuke from going…" I sank back onto the ground and bit my lip, breaking it again. I tasted the salty taste of blood and bit harder, causing myself more pain. My cheeks flushed slightly as my eyes welled up.

"What's the matter, Grace?" Tenten asked, "Why are you so upset? Neji and Lee went with them, and that's four against one."

I calmed down a little. Maybe Sasuke did have a chance?

But if he didn't… I couldn't stand to think about it. What would happen if I failed? What would happen if Sasuke _did_ get the cursed mark? I couldn't stand to think about it. My stomach hurt from the pain and I had panic waves echoing around in my body. And something strange, "I think I'm getting a heart attack," I said, clutching my chest, "I can't breathe and it really hurts."

Sakura and Tenten glanced at each other, "Grace," Tenten said, turning to me, "Is it possible you like Sasuke?"

I stared at her, not believing what she said. "_What?!_" I exclaimed, "Whatever put _that_ idea into your head?" I was so confused. Why was all this stuff happening to me? First Sasuke tries to kill me, then he acts like a bitch to me, then Orochomaru thinks that Sasuke likes me, and now _Tenten and Sakura _ think that _I _like _Sasuke_! No wonder I'm having a heart attack!

"Well," Tenten said, "I mean, it's not like we're judging you, I think there'd be something _wrong_ with a girl if she didn't find him hot or attractive or like him."

"_Thanks,_" I muttered dryly.

"So you really don't like him?" Sakura said, her eyes wide, "But… how could…"

"How could I not like him?" I said, "Because I know him better than you and although I'll admit his has somewhat good looks, although he's nothing compared to… nevermind, he's nothing more than a jerk! It totally turns me off. Besides, I can't think of him that way. He's _Sasuke_." I frowned, "And he's like, only thirteen."

"But," Sakura started, and then she began laughing. Tenten giggled too.

"What's so funny?" I snapped. I hate being kept in the dark. Wow, I'm in a really pissed off mood…. I wonder why? I glowered; _it's all Sasuke's fault..._ I'll kill that boy…

"Well," Sakura said, "You're neck has swollen up and it makes you look like a toad!" she laughed even harder. I glared at the too ecstatic girls. Would they _ever_ grow up? Then again, if I saw someone who looked like me right now I'd probably start laughing at them, even if they were a stranger. Sakura dashed to her bag and got a mirror out, "Here, see," she said, lifting it in front of my face.

I stared at my reflection and ten burst into painful laughter, "You mean old…" I said, "It _hurts_!" Tears came to my eyes as my head jerked from the laughter.

"Sorry," Sakura said, "But that wasn't really what I was laughing about," she said.

"Then what where you laughing about?" I asked, wincing as my neck felt sore from all the talking; at least it didn't hurt anymore. Taking deep breaths did, though. And laughing… damn, I really wish it wasn't so hard for me not to laugh.

"It's just ironic," she said, wiping a tear from her eyes, calming down, "That the one girl who hates him…" she shook her head, "You really have no idea what I'm talking about?"

I shook my head irritably.

She smiled, "Then I won't tell you, because it's very probably Sasuke doesn't know himself," she looked at Tenten and they smiled at each other.

"Hey! Hey!" I said, "Stop with the evil smirks! Just tell me already!"

"Oh," Sakura said, "Grace, you mentioned before that Sasuke picked out and bought you a dress, what was that all about?"

I frowned, "Oh, well, I wanted to buy some nice clothing, and Sasuke was the first person I saw who I wasn't pissed off at," Aka, Konohamaru and Naruto, I don't remember why I was pissed at them, though… oh yeah, Naruto was in the hospital and Konohamaru was… well, being Konohamaru. "And so I dragged him to the clothing store and we were looking for clothing and he randomly picked out this really nice white dress and—" I was cut off by a shrill scream. Sakura and Tenten's heads whipped in the direction of the outburst.

"What was that?!" Tenten asked Sakura. Sakura shook her head, signifying that she hadn't a clue.

I felt as if something grabbed my heart and squeezed, cutting the life from it. With a sickening dread, I said, "Sasuke."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

ooohh… not a cliffy… ok, so, that's a chapter that I'm not pleased with because… NOTHING HAPPENS! Well, a lot happens but nothing for the plot, well, it's all just stuff to lead into it… stuff starts moving in the next because now that Sasuke obviously was attacked by Orochomaru with the curse seal… Grace will change tactics.

Anyway, please review and I thank you for reading this far!

I'm thinking of adding a bonus or special thing for chapter 20 to celebrate, if you have any ideas please review and tell me.

Thank you for reading!

fUnKyToEs (ze one wid funky toes)


	17. The Chuunin Exams: Part VI

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Chuunin Exams: Part VI

WORDS: 7443 words

DISCLAIMER: I keep forgetting about this… (sweat drops) anyway, I… don't own… anything… (goes off in a corner, depressed)

REVIEWERS:

_Pandastacia:_ Yes, she failed… she's a failure… she fails at life… in life class, she failed… And she is also very, very clueless and also a little in denial me thinks… 'painful, humiliating and obvious' are perfect… I feel bad for Sasuke… Thanks for the review!

_XXBlackfireXX:_ Question, what does ROFLMAO mean? Oh and greasy monkey? That's something that a friend of mine always says she feels like when she puts sunscreen on (because she has really sensitive skin so she has to put on a ton, unlike me who just goes outside and doesn't care…) thanks for the review and I'm glad you couldn't wait till this one!

_Valinor's Twilight: _Thank you, I'm glad you liked it!

_Kitkatyobaril-chan: _your name is so hard to spell… sigh… yeah, poor Sasuke… I'm so mean, as you will see in later chapters…

_Uzura-chan: _wow, long review! I love that! Wow, you have a very expressive family… I'm glad you like my story, I'm sorry that I didn't put a bonus chapter in the last chapter, I forgot I think… how foolish of me… As for Bingly, he wasn't allowed in the exams for some reason… I don't think that Ibiki likes him… maybe I'll make a bonus chapter about that someday… As for the sign on the door…. I didn't even think about that (sweat drops) but I'll just say that she made the Hokage or Konohamaru write it and accidently started saying her real name and then corrected herself. She did make the scene of her murdering Sasuke in several ways though… As for Grace meeting Itachi, you'll just have to wait and see! ! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

_Kibafangirl11:_ I'm so glad you liked this story so much as to read it so far!! I'm also a kiba fan girl… And yes, I updated this up quick, but unfortunately you'll have to wait a while for the next chapter… you'll find out later, but I'm really glad you like this story and I can't wait to hear more from you! (hint hint) anyway, enjoy!

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH:

Ok, well, this is chapter seventeen… so I hope you guys enjoy it since I did all of this in like, one day… my hand is dead… anyway, there's a surprise at the end of this one due to something that I'll explain at the end of this chapter. Enjoy! I say that too much… I say too many things too much…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I felt a panic attack coming on, "Sakura! Tenten!" I shouted, "We have to get to Sasuke!" I tried to sit up but failed. Tenten pushed me back down gently. It's sad that she can make me go down 'gently' when I put all my physical energy, although it's not much at the moment, into getting up.

"Whoa," Sakura said, "You can't move…" she looked worriedly towards the noise, "But Sasuke…" she hesitated, "He would be upset if he found out we left you…" She glanced at Tenten, pleading with her eyes. That's no fair! It's not my fault that Sakura got the cute factor.

"You go, I can watch over Grace," Tenten said. Sakura nodded and leapt out of view.

"Hey!" I shouted, "I have to go too—" Tenten pushed me down gently.

"You need to rest," Tenten said, "Now… are you comfortable?"

"Am I _comfortable?!_" I shrieked, "I failed at the ONE thing I promised I would prevent and you ask if I'm _comfortable?!_"

She doubled back in surprise, "Grace, there's no need to overreact, he's probably just fallen out of a tree or something…"

"No…" I said, "I wish it were that… he…" my eyes lit up, "Tenten, in my kunai pouch there's a scroll, get it out."

She searched my kunai scroll and took out the scroll, "What is it?" she asked.

"It's a summoning scroll," I explained excitedly, "We can summon some jonin to come and—" I opened the scroll to reveal…

"I can see how this is useful," Tenten said, looking around in amusement, "But how does it help us _now?"_

I stared at all the food surrounding us, and on us. "I… damn it! Anko _knew_ that I would have a hard time figuring out what scroll is what. Just leave it all," I said to Tenten, "Leave it for the other people, the _other_ scroll in my kunai pouch." She reached in and brought out the last scroll. Handing it to me, I opened it. In a puff of smoke, Kotetsu appeared.

"Hey," he said, "Didn't expect you to need—"

"Sasuke was attacked by Orochomaru!" I shouted.

"_What?!_" he said, "Why didn't you—never mind," he shot me a look, "I'll get help, where is Sasuke?" I pointed in the direction Sasuke was, "Right, I'm sending someone to pick you up and take you out—it's too dangerous here now." He looked pointedly at my bruises.

I glared, "I want to come too!" he disappeared.

"Grace," Tenten said, "You're acting childish."

I looked at her in surprise.

"Come on," she said, "What do you think you'll really accomplish? Sasuke's probably in too much pain, if what you say is true, for you to be of any help. You're not a ninja. You are injured. You can't move. You'll only be a burden."

I stared at her. Then I looked at the ground, "I'm tired of being a burden," I said, "I'm always the burden. Ever since I was a child, I've been nothing but a burden to people. I put it upon myself to stop Sasuke… but I even failed at that. It's _because_ of me this time that Sasuke was attacked. If I… if I wasn't so—trying to be important and powerful and acting like I was someone special just because I'm not from around here, I thought if I was special, if I was what I've been acting like, I'd be able to… make things different. I never dreamed I would be able to get hurt here… I…" I stopped.

Tenten looked at me with concern, "I'm sorry I said those things." She said apologetically.

I would have shook my head if it weren't for the pain, "No, thank you." I said. "I just…" a ninja appeared next to me, as well as Anko.

"Grace," Anko said, "This ANBU will escort you back. You girl!" she pointed at Tenten, take me—" she halted at the sight of all the food, she looked on the verge of laughter, "Show me where Orochomaru was sighted."

"Well, actually I don't—"

"Just take me there!" Anko shouted. Tenten nodded and hurried away, Anko close on her heels. The ANBU knelt beside me. He then picked me up bridal style and quickly dashed out of the forest, careful of my bruises. We landed softly just outside. There were many ninja surrounding me and the Hokage, whom I just noticed was standing above me. The ANBU didn't let me down.

"Where do you want me to take her?" he asked the Hokage. He hurried towards me.

"Grace," The Hokage said, a worried expression on his face, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I said, trying to smile but it hurt too much.

"What happened?" He asked, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I…" I choked, "I was attacked by Orochomaru and then Sasuke, Neji and Lee came and fought him. Sasuke was attacked by him with the curse seal." I said.

"What?"

"The curse seal?"

"What's that?"

I felt like glaring at the ninja (plural). Pirates are way better. No—wait, I didn't mean that! Or maybe I did… I could never make up my mind on that… Ninja are better. The Hokage's eyes widened at the word 'curse sea'.

"What did Orochomaru do to you?" the Hokage asked.

"He…" I paused, trying to remember what he did, exactly. "He… hurt me." I said, "Punched me, kicked me… He tried to… make me tell him what I knew." I said. "But I think he's only suspicious of my knowledge, I don't think that he knows what it is. He didn't hurt me that badly," I finished.

The Hokage breathed another sigh of relief, "Take her to the hospital and keep her under twenty-four hour ANBU guard, at least four ANBU per shift." He instructed the ANBU. He nodded and we dashed out. Before we did I saw Kakashi glance at me, and then follow the ANBU guard and me.

"I'll take the first shift," he said. They stopped and the ANBU handed me over to Kakashi. The ANBU headed back towards the head ANBU quarter area… where ever they're HQ is. Kakashi carefully headed towards the hospital.

I blushed slightly. Yeah, I know that Kakashi is like, ten years older than me, but he _is_ really, really sexy… and being carried by him… I don't know, it's just that my crush meter just went up ten points. We landed in front of the hospital. We walked in and cut the line to the front desk. "Hokage's orders are that this girl is seen to immediately."

The nurses nodded and said, "What are the injuries?"

"She was attacked by Orochomaru, physically and slight mental trauma." He said. I didn't know whether to glare at him or to thank him for carrying me.

"Oro—this way." The nurse brushed by the other people and brought me to a room. Kakashi, helped by the nurse, laid me in the bed. "I'll stay," he said, "I'm in charge of guarding her for the first shift. She is supposed to be under twenty four hour ANBU guard."

"That's pretty strict security." The nurse said, checking my pulse. "What happened?"

"I…" I paused. Where to start? "Sasuke kicked me, which was the first layer of bruises on my chin and cheek." Kakashi looked surprised, "And then Orochomaru… kicked me, slapped me… I don't _think_ that there is any mental trauma," I said, glaring at Kakashi, "Although I don't know."

"Kakashi Hataki just meant that you had a… bad time," the nurse explained, sending cute looks towards Kakashi. Bitch. Kakashi is _my_ hero.

"I know what he meant." I said, "And I have to say, I agree." I paused, "Kakashi, Sasuke _has_ to stay in the Chuunin exams."

"I know," he said, "Anko informed me that she'll keep Sasuke in even though he's hurt."

"When did you talk to her?" I asked, surprised.

He shook his head, telling me now what not the time. The nurse put a gas mask over my mouth, "Count to ten," she instructed.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

"Four…"

"…Five…"

"…….six….."

"……..seven……."

"….eigh…." I don't remember anything else.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When I woke it was morning. Kakashi was sitting next to me, reading that damn book that I can't understand. "Why are you still here?" I asked, trying to glare at him but failing miserably.

"My shift isn't over, and the ANBU are busy tracking Orochomaru." He said, not looking up.

"Yeah," I said, "Kabuto, he's a 'leaf ninja' of this village, I'd suggest that you disqualify and interrogate him, he's a spy for Orochomaru."

Kakashi looked at me with surprise, "Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"I forgot," I shrugged.

My eyes widened in joy, "I can shrug!" I yelled, lifting my arms in the arm and twisting my neck, "What did the nurse do?" I asked.

"A lot of stuff," Kakashi said, bored and continuing to read that book, "The swelling has gone down and you shouldn't feel too much pain but your neck and right cheek look like you stained it."

I looked around and he automatically lifted up the mirror that was on the bedside table, lifting it so I could see. "Oh," I said. He was right. It was as if I had stained it with dark purple ink. It sort of matched my hair. "As long as it isn't swollen and it doesn't hurt too much," I said, "I don't really care what the skin looks like."

"Don't do too much," Kakashi said, putting down the mirror, "You don't want to traumatize the muscles again."

I nodded.

There was an awkward silence.

It continued…

"So," I said, fidgeting with my hands, "You really like that book, huh?"

He glanced up at me with surprise, "What?" he asked as if he didn't hear me. He probably was ignoring me. That damn… perverted…. Lazy… always late… damn… idiot… excuse master…

"That book," I said, "You like it a lot? You always read it." I pointed at the book in case he didn't understand me.

"Yes," he said, "It's my favorite series." He took a glass off the bed side table that was probably meant for me and took a sip out of it, his eyes fixed on the page he was reading. My eyebrow twitched. I was just about to drink some… now I can't. I sighed.

"You know," I said, "You don't really strike me as perverted."

He choked and spat over his book. He just stared at it for a moment and then carefully wiped the pages on his pant leg. His eyes had a strange emotion on them and I realized that he was embarrassed. Well, there you go, guys, award for 'The Most Impressive Obnoxious and Embarrassing Person' goes to me. I'm proud. "Well, it's just an interesting book." He said.

"It's a porn book." I said dryly, "To read it as obsessively as you do… you'd _have_ to be perverted."

He gave me a look, "I'm not perverted." He said.

I sighed, "Whatever, just read me some."

He blanched. "What?" he asked. "I can't do that!"

"Why?" I said, "I'm too young? I'm sixteen," I said, successfully glaring at him for about six seconds. I'm proud. No really, I am.

"I—why do you even want to listen?"

"One: I'm bored, Two: I can't read the blasted language so I can't ever read the book, Three: I want to know why Naruto thinks they're boring, and FOUR:" I took a deep breath, "I curious, that's all."

"Naruto… Naruto's read them?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

This time _I_ blanched. "No, did I say Naruto?" I laughed uneasily, "I was just kidding! I didn't mean Naruto! I meant… Natsumi! She's this girl I met a while ago at the Ramen shop…" I rubbed the back o my head. Great, I'm such a clutz.

He sighed, "Fine, but don't tell the Hogake about this or he'll have my head." He opened the book to page one.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The nurse walked through the corridors with three people behind her. Ibiki, the Hokage, and Might Guy. "This is the room," she said to them, "be quiet I think that she's resting at the moment. Kakashi Hataki is on guard."

"Yes, we know." The Hokage said, "If Grace is sleeping, please wake her up, no matter how inconvenient it is it is important that we ask her questions."

The nurse nodded and opened the door.

Kakashi and I stared up at them, both having the expression of being caught doing something very, very bad.

"Oh, Grampa," I said, looking at the Hokage, "What a pleasant surprise!"

"You're up," the nurse said, she walked in from behind the three ninja and glanced at me, then at Kakashi, "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," I said, "Nothing." I repeated. It wouldn't do for the Hokage to know that his 'adoptive' granddaughter was read porno books to.

"Oh!" Guy said, leaping to my bedside, "You are the beautiful maiden that Lee is so in love with!" he said, "I know now why he is so enraptured by you! When you get married it'll be a spectacular—"

"Married?!" I said, blanching, "We're not even dating!"

"What?" Guy said, "Lee said you were!"

"Well, Lee told you wrong!" I said.

Guy didn't say anything, "I see, this man here influenced you to not fall in love with my student… I'm so sorry for you, fair maiden!" he said, kneeling in regret, "That you must have this perverted creep guarding you!"

"You're the creep!" I shouted, trying to get away from him.

Guy stopped and then nodded, sitting in one of the chairs in the room. It's sort of creepy how he changed emotion so fast… The Hokage sat in a chair next to his, and Ibiki sat in one on the other side of the Hokage. Kakashi stayed where he is.

"Right now, we need to talk to Grace about what happened." The Hokage said. Looking at me with those old eyes I knew that I would tell him everything, even if I didn't want to. Not that I have anything to hide anymore. I'll have to tell the Hokage.

"Did you know that Orochomaru was going to target Sasuke?" Ibiki asked.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you notify ANBU that Orochomaru had entered the exam?" he asked.

"Because my monitor was turned off and by then I was in too much pain to do anything." I said. That was a lie, I mean, there was that time before the test started… I slapped my face, causing the four ninja to jump in surprise. I'm such a bitch. Why didn't I just disqualify Orochomaru then?

"Are you ok?" Kakashi asked, half out of his chair.

"Yeah." I said. "I'm just angry with myself."

"There's no need to be," the Hokage said, "As far as we can see, Sasuke is fine and is still participating in the exam. He'll have trouble with the sealed mark but seems to be doing fine."

"That's not it!" I said, "He's going to betray the village and… go with Orochomaru."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "That's impossible," he said, sitting down in his chair with a thump. "Sasuke wouldn't—" he didn't finish. He knew that Sasuke would for power.

"It's not," the Hokage said, "Sasuke is bent on his revenge, and will stop at nothing to get it. If that takes betraying his friends and home, he'll do it. Grace, is there any chance of Sasuke being able to fight with that?"

"No." I said, "Alone, or even with help, it'll be the same conclusion." It happened before right? And everything so far has happened the same. What difference will anything now make?

There was silence, "Grace, do you think you'll be able to stop him?" The Hokage asked, gazing hard at me.

I didn't answer.

I wasn't able to stop Orochomaru from giving Sasuke the curse mark, was I? Then again, that's a physical thing… and how _would_ I stop Orochomaru? Perhaps… perhaps I should try to stop him a different way. Perhaps I should try to make him understand that being strong isn't just about power… but the thing is, it is. I know that Orochomaru will make Sasuke so much more powerful than he could ever be in Konoha… and the worst part was… for some reason I _wanted_ him to have that power. I want him to be strong and to accomplish his dreams, and that he can only really do that if he goes to Orochomaru… why do I want that? Why is it so important that he be so strong? I don't know why I'm being so selfish. It's not my decision… but… "I might be able to." I said.

"Very well," The Hokage said, "From now on, you're mission, Grace Witherspoon, is to prevent Sasuke from going to Orochomaru."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I left the hospital the next day. It was the third day of the second exam, I still had two more days until the preliminary exam, so I had time to recover and figure out what to do with Sasuke. Yeah, I said all those big words "I can stop Sasuke!" I muttered to myself. "But _how?_"

"Who are you talking too?" Konohamaru asked. He was sitting on a couch, watching TV. Bingly sat in my lad, licking my hand protectively.

"Myself," I said, "You have a problem with that?" I asked, glaring at him. It's so much easier to glare at this brat than it is almost everyone else. Sasuke and Naruto are up high on that list.

"What's bothering you?" he asked.

I glanced at him, "I have to stop Sasuke from doing something bad," I said, "And I'm not sure how."

"What bad thing is he about to do?" he asked.

"Well, because it's top secret and the Gramps told me not to talk to anyone about it, I'll just say that I have to prove to Sasuke that friends, or, yeah , friends, are stronger than personal power…" I know that's what I'm supposed to do, but how can I do that if I don't myself believe it? Does that sound like such a horrible thing?

Konohamaru contemplated the idea. "Well, I see why Gramps put you up for the job."

I glanced at him, surprised, "Why?" I asked, "And _please_ change the channel, it's bugging me to hell. Don't say that word," I warned Konohamaru, "I won't tolerate _you_ saying crude language."

He laughed and switched the channel, "Well, I mean if anyone has a chance of convincing Sasuke that, it's you."

"Why?" I asked, "Why does everyone seem to have such confidence in me?"

"Because…" Konohamaru said, then he trailed off, gazing at me with a puzzled expression, "Grace, you are really dumb."

I blinked, "Excuse me?" I growled, "What did you call me?"

"I mean, Naruto and _I _even noticed, and you could you not?" he laughed.

I stopped what I was about to say. There was something obvious that _Naruto and Konohamaru _knew that I didn't notice?! I should die now… "What is it?" I groaned, almost not wanting to know the answer.

Konohamaru didn't say anything, "Do you ever have the feeling that you're… more than a friend to Sasuke?"

I picked up the remote and threw it on the ground lightly, annoyed, "Why is everyone saying that!" I said, "Sasuke hates me! He glares and says mean things to me more than anyone else!" I glared at Konohamaru, "And why isn't there a girl to which I can bitch about him with? That word is also banned from your vocabulary," I added.

Konohamaru bent over to pick up the remote, "You're right, you're probably just friends. It's just…from what I can gather Sasuke doesn't make many friends… and those that he does he doesn't seem to do that much stuff with them or anything, but he hangs out with you all the time and seems to enjoy himself, even happy. He's nice to you, even if you don't notice, so maybe it's just so out of Sasuke's character that it looks different."

"I don't know what you're talking about, _nice,_ but your right, just because we hang out more and more often don't mean that we like each other, it just means we're better friends."

Konohamaru smiled, "Forgive me for misinterpreting."

I stared at him.

He stared back, confused.

"You're not Konohamaru," I said bluntly.

Konohamaru smiled, "How did you know?"

"Konohamaru is an idiot, he wouldn't even notice that Sasuke and I hang out that often." I said, "Now _who_ are you?"

In a puff of smoke an ANBU sat there next to me. It was the same one who had come for me in the forest… and the same one who had been a guard here very often at the Hokage's mansion. "You…" I said, "Why are you here?" I asked.

"It's just easier to keep guard on you when I can be up close, and you'd never let me be near you." He said, "So I simplified things."

"You _simplified_ things?" I said, "Where's Konohamaru?"

"In bed."

"You've been the ANBU guard here at the mansion, right?"

"No, I'm your personal guard." He said.

There was silence. "You're telling me that you are the ANBU person that _STALKS ME?!_" I yelled. He flinched away from me.

"There's no need to be angry," He said, "I'm just doing my job!"

"Show your face," I said.

"No," he said, "I'm strictly forbidden to do so."

"Then be off duty for an hour, I want to see my stalker's face."

"I'm not a stalker."

"Yeah, you are," I said. "Oh, if you are a guard, remember a while ago that Bingly and Naruto were chasing each other? They crashed through the door, I was woken up and then that morning there was a hole in the wall… why didn't you stop that?"

He started laughing, "Are you kidding? That was too funny to stop! Then again, these days my entire life is being the audience of a comedy show…" He trailed off and then scooted away from me.

I brandished my fist, "A _comedy_ show? My life is a _comedy_ show?" then I started laughing, "You know!" I said, "I think you're probably right. Anyway, how many times have you transformed into someone to get close to me?"

"This was the first time—I swear! Don't look at me like that!" he laughed uneasily. "I really wish that I could take off the mask—it's really hot under here, but I can't."

"Why not," I said, "I want to see the face of my stalker."

"I'm not—fine." He said, "Might as well, it's not like It'll do you any harm." He reached up and removed the mask…

My eyes widened.

My mouth dropped open.

"THER PERVERTED NINJA FROM THE SHOP!" I screamed, pointing at him. I remembered him. I was starting my new job at this book shop (that was for perverted men) and then this ninja came and harassed me and eventually revealed himself as the shop owner and fired me, saying that I was ugly… now I can have my revenge…

He grinned sheepishly, "Yeah, that's me," he said, "Guess you'd never had guessed, huh?"

I just stared, my mouth hitting the floor. "You—you—you—you!" I said, "How are you—what—how?"

"Surprised?" he asked, "Yeah, I suppose you would be. Well, as it happens the Hokage put me in charge of your ANBU security, and I've been that ever since. For the most part," he added, "I'm almost always on, just a few hours every two days to sleep…"

"Oh, I have _so_ much pity for you…" I muttered sarcastically, "So wait, you're _not_ a perverted ninja who owns a perverted book shop?"

"No," he said, "I _am_ a perverted ninja who owns a perverted book shop."

"I don't understand…" I muttered. It was too late and I had a limited recourse of brain cells….

"I am perverted, I suppose, the same way that Kakashi or Jairaiha are perverted, but believe me," he said, "I've never taken advantage of you."

"Really?" I said, "So you don't spy on me when—say, I'm in the shower?"

"Of course," he said, "For your own safety I have had to keep an eye on you always—" he dodged a pillow I threw at him, "Hey—"

"PERVERT!" I yelled, my face heating up. "Why would the Hokage put a PERVERTED ninja in charge of me! I'll kill him!"

"Again, what's your problem?" he asked, "Are you—no, that's not for another week…"

I clenched my fists, "Do you know every detail of my life?" I shouted. Then I calmed down, "So if you watch me while I'm in the shower—then why didn't you warn me that I was going to dye my hair pink?"

He laughed, and then put his mask back on. "You kidding? That was the funniest thing—"

I threw another pillow at him.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto sat on the balcony of the tower. Because of the ninja who had come, both one of the first exam's proctors and the second exam proctor, and many more that had arrived to survey the scene, Team 7 was able to get quickly to the tower. Orochomaru had given them the scroll that they needed. They were waiting now, and tomorrow were the day that the third exam would start, or at least the day that the second exam would end.

"Are you sure you are ok?" Sakura asked Sasuke worriedly.

"Hn," he said.

She sighed. He had reverted back to his usual self. 'Hn' was his most used word, and although he hadn't said it for a while, it was still normal. _Come to think of it,_ she thought, _he hasn't really used it since meeting Grace… he also talked more when around her. I wonder why he's acting so different now…_

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto said, "How's that—"

Sasuke cut him off by glaring at him. Naruto shrunk back, "Ok," he said, "I won't ask. Anyway, Sakura," he said, "Where's Grace?"

Sakura shook her head, "Tenten said that an ANBU came and took her out of the exam, to safety."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good news," he said.

"Sakura!"

They looked up to see Neji, Tenten and Lee coming to see them, "Sakura," Tenten repeated, "How are you?" her eyes trailed to the brooding Uchiha, sitting, leaning against the wall, "How are you, Sasuke?" he glared at her and she blinked in surprise, "Ok…" she sat down next to Sakura. Her team mates also sat down, "Do you mind if we sit with you?"

"Not at all," Sakura said, smiling.

"So you guys made it as well," Shikamaru said, strolling up to them lazily, "What a drag."

"Hey, billboard, didn't think you'd make it!" Ino said, smirking. She glanced at Sasuke, "But I'm totally _not_ surprise that my man made it!" she squealed.

"Anyway one has some food?" Choji asked.

"You always think about your stomach!" Ino snapped.

"I was about to say the same thing!" Kiba said, walking up to them. "But I'm kind of hungry too…"

"Naruto, y-y-you made it!" Hinata said shyly.

"Huh?" Naruto said, "Why is everyone coming over here?"

"Because," Ino said, "It's boring just sitting by yourself, besides," she said, scooting towards Sasuke, fluttering her eyelashes. "There's a better view over here."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched.

"So," Tenten said, "It's good that Grace was able to get medical care. Sensei," she nodded in the direction of a very loud man talking with Anko, "Said that she is out of the hospital now and is doing fine. There isn't any real damage, which is a relief."

"Yeah," Sakura said.

"Grace?" Ino said, "Who's this—oh, is it that weird girl from before? You know, she's not very pretty."

"Shut up!" Naruto said, "Grace is beautiful!" Hinata shuffled awkwardly, looking down at the ground. Kiba glanced at her.

"What, you have a crush of her?!" Ino sneered.

Naruto blushed, "No!"

"I bet you do," Kiba said, nudging him in the stomach.

"No," Naruto said, "We're just friends, but if you want to know who _does_ have a crush on her—"

"Why was she in the exam in the first place?" Neji interrupted.

Naruto looked up in surprise, "I don't know." He said, glancing at Sakura.

"She wouldn't tell us," Sakura explained, "But… it wasn't some fluke, she was there for a reason."

"I heard that you guys were attacked by a Misssing Ninja," Kiba said, "You think it has something to do with that? I overheard the sensei's talking and heard that she was there to watch out for him. They said something about Sasuke too," Sasuke glanced up for a moment and then went back to brooding, "But I couldn't hear that part. It almost sounded like she was there to prevent something from happening—something bad."

Naruto and Sakura glanced at each other.

"You know," Tenten said, "When Sakura went back to check on Naruto and the others while they were fighting that guy, Grace said something about failing to prevent the one thing that was most important, or failing to protect someone. I'm not sure, she was really panicking about Sasuke, though." She looked at Sasuke.

"Guy-sensei said that she was put into the exam on purpose because she was suppose to inform the Hokage or the elite ninja when Orochomaru was supposed to enter," Lee said.

"We already clarified that," Neji sighed.

"But," Lee said, "Why, then, would they bother sending in a civilian? Why not just send in a ninja disguised as a genin?" the genin pondered this. This was a concept that hadn't been thought before, "The answer is this," Lee said, "From what I could gather of the sensei talk around here and from what Guy-sensei said, it appears that it was _Grace_ who first informed the Hokage that Orochomaru would be attacking."

They all looked at him in surprise.

"She knew?" Sakura said, "But how….?"

"You know," Naruto said, "She always seems to know stuff. Like… I don't know, every once in a while she spurt out something that hasn't happened or that she would never be able to know about… I wonder, who she really is?"

"I HATE PERVERTS!" A scream echoed throughout the tower. "SCRATCH THAT, I HATE NINJA IN GENERAL!"

"IS that… Grace?" Sakura asked.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The doors opened and I stormed through. I glanced up at the balcony to see all four of the leaf teams sitting together. I grunted in anger and stomped up the steps. Ryuichi followed close behind. Oh, that's his name, by the way. I stormed my way over to the Genin. I halted halfway and stopped to glare at the ANBU who was following too close behind me, "STOP _STALKING ME!_" I shouted.

"I'm doing my _job_." He said, and the genin could tell that he was on the brink of destruction. My destruction. Ha, try, ninja boy!

"No," I said, "You were being a PERVERT!"

"The Hokage instructed me to double the guarding duty that I normally do, I'm just doing the Hokage's orders! I thought you were being attacked" he yelled.

We had quite the audience. The whole hall was silent. "Why the hell would I be attacked in the SHOWER?" I yelled.

"I don't know," he said, "You _screamed_!"

"I saw a _spider_!" I said, "I wasn't being attacked! You—freak!" I turned around and stormed over the Genin, "You!" I yelled in general to all the boys, "Don't you DARE become perverts when you grow up!" I sat down roughly. "Sasuke?" I asked in a much quiet and peaceful voice, "Are you alright?"

"At least you can project your voice again," Naruto said, rubbing his ear. I glared at him.

"Sasuke?" I asked, but I stopped. He glared at me, sending shivers down my spine. I just blinked. Why was he so angry? Was he angry at me? "I—just wanted to—" I stopped, "Sasuke, I need to talk to you in private," I said, "It's important." I paused, glancing at the others.

Sasuke looked as if he was just going to keep ignoring me, but eventually pushed himself up. I got up and we left. "Let's go over there," I said. On the end of the balcony there was a door. I think it led to the bathrooms and such, but there must be some kind of alcove there. I had to talk to Sasuke.

I opened the door and peered through, "In here," I said and pulled him in. It was a dark little area and there were two doors, one for the men's room, and one for the lady's. There was also a stair case that led downwards. Probably to the first level. I walked down a few steps and sat down. I patted the spot next to me and motioned that he sit there. He grudgingly came down and sat.

"Sasuke," I said, "There's something… important that I have to talk to you about."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ok, that's the end of the chapter!! I have some important things to say and that that in the next week I'll be away at camp and therefore won't be able to update for another two weeks… I'm so sorry! To make up for that, I have created a bonus chapter for all of you to make up for that… so I hope that it makes you happy. Oh, and just to tell you, I wrote this whole chapter in one day (also the day that before I go to camp ((also the day I'm supposed to pack…))) and I nearly killed myself to get it done… so I hope you're happy…. (Mutters sarcastic comments about ungrateful readers—jk!) Anyway, I had fun writing this bonus chapter, so I hope you have fun reading it! No really, I really hope that you like it…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto and I 'oohed' and 'awed' over the spectacular events that were occurring before us. "Wow!" I said, "I've gone to some carnivals and some small amusement parks but _never_ have I seen one this big before! I'm so glad that your team has the night off!" I said, turning to Team 7.

"Yes," Kakashi said, "I'm not sure _why_ the Hokage insisted that we have the night off. So coincidental that it's the night you were going to the carnival…"

I grinned sheepishly up at him, "I might have had something to do with it, but he said that you were the best person since the ANBU who guards me has the night off…" I paused, trying to imagine who this mysterious person is. Probably some noble amazing warrior… anyway, "And besides, Konohamaru is grounded for the evening, and I have no one to go with!"

"This is going to be so much fun!" Sakura said, and Bingly barked in agreement.

"I've never been to an amusement park!" Naruto said, punching the air in excitement.

"You've _never_ been to one?" Sasuke scoffed, "What a loser."

Naruto glared at him, "Grace! Let's go on some rides!"

I opened my mouth but Kakashi interrupted, "No, we have to buy tickets. I'll go get them, the Hokage gave us money to buy them with, and you guys can wonder around, I'll find you."

I guess that's the nice thing about ninjas, they're good at finding people… Anyway, "Naruto, what ride do you want to go on first?"

Naruto thought about it. I sighed, and then looked at the spectacular and dazzling scene. The whole valley was lit up (it was in a valley a few miles away from Konoha) and there were probably over a hundred rides. This place was amazing. "All of them!" he shouted.

My eyebrow twitched, "Naruto, I don't think the Hokage gave us _that_ much money!"

"No," Kakashi said, handing us each a bunch of tickets, "but there are contests and things to win more tickets. I'll be over there," he nodded towards a bench. I sighed, he's going to go read, I suppose, so much for the Hokage telling him to keep an eye on me.

"This is awesome!" Naruto said, "If we can win more tickets we can go on ALL the rides!" he grabbed my hand.

I sighed, "I don't think I'll live to that," I muttered as he dragged me away, Sakura and Sasuke following. We ended up at a ride that of course I have no idea what the name was but it looked cool enough. It was very tall and had two things to sit in on either end. From what I could tell, it would go up in the air and then shoot down in a circling manor… there was something similar back home called the 'salt and pepper'. "Let's go on that!" Naruto shouted. He ran up to the man at the gate and started yelling about stopping it so that they could get on.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, hitting him over the head, "We have to wait!" She smiled sweetly at the petrified man, "Don't mind him, we'll just get on at the right time… _right Naruto?!_" She glared at him.

"S—scary!" Naruto whimpered backing away from her.

The ride eventually stopped and we waited patiently for the people to get off. When I say patiently I mean Sasuke, Sakura and I. Naruto wasn't. I won't go into the details. It was _bad._ When the man at the gate opened it for us, Naruto rapidly gave him the appropriate number of tickets and then dashed on, Sakura behind him. I stepped forward but then six more people (who were obviously a group) cut us and got on, taking up the only spots left. I sighed. "Well," I said, "Want to go on a different ride?"

"Hn." Sasuke said and walked away. I followed.

"What kind of rides does Sasuke like to go on?" I thought out loud. I was really curious. Did he like wild rides or… not wild ones? Hm…

"I'm right here," he snapped, "Why not just ask me?"

"Oh," I said, "I didn't think that you would answer me." I said, "Sorry."

"I don't really care for rides," Sasuke sighed, "I just came because Kakashi-sensei made me."

"Why would he make you?" I asked.

He didn't answer.

"Anyway," I said, "Ooh! Sasuke!" I said, pointing at the stalls, "You should go try that! You would definitely win something big!" I was pointing at one of those stalls that you throw a dart or something at this moving target and if you hit it on the bulls eye than you get a prize. He didn't answer. "Please?" I asked.

"Fine," he said, and walked over. There were a bunch of men there, trying their best to hit the mark and their 'girls' who were clinging on their arms and telling them exactly what prize they wanted. How pitiful. I ignored the fact that I just made Sasuke go and participate so I could get one of the prizes… Does that make me as bad as those girls?

One man laughed at Sasuke, because he is after all, not even fourteen yet. The man running the stall said, "Aren't you a little young to want to do this? Other little boys did this and failed!" they laughed. I noticed that Sasuke wasn't wearing a head protector. They probably didn't know he was a ninja. If they did, they wouldn't make fun of him.

Sasuke grabbed one of the throwing knives and threw it in the air, and then caught it. The people at the stall stopped what they were doing to watch. I guess they didn't expect him to be good. "This knife isn't good," he said, "I'll use one of my own." He placed the knife on the stall counter and reached into his kunai pouch, taking out a kunai.

"You're a ninja?" The stall runner asked his mouth dropping. "I—I didn't know!" he said, and quickly got out of the way. I suppose he assumed that the boy would win. Ha! That's my Sasuke for you! Wait… did I just say—

"And he got the bulls eye of the fastest target!" someone next to me said.

I looked up in surprise. Truth to be told, he did. "Wow Sasuke!" I said, "That's amazing!" I lifted my arms in the air to express my excitement.

He sighed in exasperation, "No," he said, "The targets are really slow and obvious."

"What prize do you want?" the stall runner asked, motioning to one of the really, really, really big ones.

"None," Sasuke said, and he turned away.

The stall runner just stared.

"Um, Sasuke!" I said, but he just kept walking.

"Oh!" The stall keeper said, "You must be his girlfriend, you can pick one!"

"Oh no, I'm not his—really?" I asked, looking at all the huge stuffed animals. "Oohh… I'll get that one!" I pointed at a large cockatoo. The stall runner got it down and handed it to me. I grunted as I backed up. It was huge! I could barely see anything behind it!

I turned around to see Sasuke waiting for me a few stalls down. "Wait up!" I called out running to catch up with him, "Look, I got one with the same hair style as you!" I smiled down at him. He was after all about five or six inches shorter than me… no, scratch that, more like nine inches… he's short for a thirteen year old. I dread the day he's taller than me. In the Shippuden he's over six feet, and he's only sixteen then… what'll I do? He'll have the tall factor then… I'm a dead woman…

His eyebrow twitched.

We kept walking, "Where's Sakura and Naruto, I wonder?" I asked him, "I mean, you'd think—they're probably on a bunch of rides," I said.

"Probably," he said.

"I was thinking of wearing that white dress you picked out," I said, "but I didn't want to get it dirty, it's like, my favorite dress, and besides, I'd probably just end up flashing everyone by the end of the day!" I laughed.

He looked away from me.

"Hey Sasuke," I said, "You want to know something funny? That man at the stall actually thought I was your girlfriend!" I laughed even harder, "Isn't that just the weirdest thing?"

He looked at me in surprise, "He thought—"

"LOOK!" I interrupted, pointing at a fried dough stall a few yards away, "Fried dough!" then I frowned, "Kakashi had all the money that the Hokage gave to me…"

Sasuke sighed and walked up to the stall, "What do you want?" he asked me.

I blinked and then hurried up to the stall, "Are you sure?" I asked.

"Just order before I change my mind." He said. I picked out what I wanted and then he ordered what he wanted. He paid for it and we walked away.

"Thanks for the fried dough," I said.

"Hn." He said.

I sighed, "Is that all you say?" I asked. "'hn?'"

"Hn—" he stopped. "No." he said.

"Yeah!" I said, "You're being so cute! I would pinch your cheek if I had any hands…" I frowned. My left arm was wrapped around the 'Sasuke-bird', which was what I named the large Cockatoo, and my right hand held the fried dough. Sasuke looked away again. What's his problem? Am I ugly or something? That little brat… "Anyway," I said, "Thank you so much for getting me the cockatoo stuffed animal," I said, "I think I'm going to call in Sasuke-kun."

He glanced at me with a mixture of surprise and annoyance. "Why?" he asked.

"Because," I said, "He looks like you."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched and he looked away in annoyance. "Do you want to go on a ride or not?" he asked.

"What?" I said, "Oh, yeah," I said, "Why not… why don't you choose one?" I asked, grinning at Sasuke. I knew that he was going to hate me. For some reason he doesn't seem the type to want to choose something like that.

I was right.

He glared at me. "Fine," he snapped and pointed in general at the biggest and (what looked like) the most dangerous.

"Oh," I said, "Are—are you sure about that one?" I asked nervously.

"What, you scared?" he said with a hint of a sneer.

"Let's go," I growled and stormed off in the direction of the ride.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

After persuading the ride worker person to watch over Sasuke-kun, I followed Sasuke to the seats. "Are you sure you're up to this?" I asked him again. Of course, I was worried about him. I knew he wasn't worried about himself. I knew that he was worried about me. _I _was worried about me. Not that I would throw up, just that I… would die…

"Just get on," he said.

I got on and sat next to him. We were in these little two person carts that seemed to go on this track… it looked like a normal roller coaster, besides the fact that most of it seemed to be underground. "What kind of ride is this?" I asked Sasuke as we were locked into the cart.

"A horror ride," he said, "Apparently the underground part is full of… surprises."

I gulped.

I hate horror movies…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

And that's the end of the bonus chapter! Just kidding. I'm too tired to write anymore and I have to pack and revise this chapter and what not so I've decided to cut it short, however, in the next chapter (chapter eighteen) I'm going to finish this one. Unfortunately for you guys you have to wait two weeks for that… I'm really, really, really sorry! I'll make it up to you guys for having the rest of the bonus chapter really good! I hope… anyway, this is for people who review: because I'm curious I'd like to know what you guys think Grace looks like. PLEASE TELL ME!

Have a great two weeks!

fUnKyToEs


	18. The Chuunin Exams: Part VII

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Chuunin Exams Part VII

WORDS: 6590 words

DISCLAIMER: I do not own it… what more do you want from me?!

REVIEWERS:

_Warning746: _I'm so glad that you like my story! (_Squeals in corner_) Thank you for your review! Yes, I try my best to make my character non Mary sue like because I want her to… be human… anyway, keep reading! Thank you again!

_Kibafangirl11:_ I'm… glad your enthusiastic about me not going? (not sure how to react… reads one of Sai's books) Yes, it only rained a few days but we slept in dorms so it was ok. I'm glad you can't wait and I'm sorry that I made you wait this long! (cries). Anyway, please enjoy this chapter, oh, and what did you think will happen in the bonus bit? I'm curious…

_Uzura-chan_: You are very enthusiastic… very… very… _very…_ Yes, I'm very sorry that you must wait two whole weeks… and I don't know how to react to you going through withdrawal.. only that I WON'T MAKE YOU WAIT ANYMORE! FROM NOW ON (unless someone, like, dies) I'LL UPDATE WITHIN A WEEK OR LESS!! Sometime I update within days… although that's only when I'm off work… A short story where Grace get's her ear pierced? Maybe I will do that… that'd be fascinating… grins evilly. Did you know how much _I_ love reading _your_ reviews? I look forward to write just so I can respond to your review…

_Kitkatyobaril-chan_: if you like horror rides than you should have gone on with Sasuke! I feel like such a horrible person for doing that the Grace, as you will see in the bonus chapter, because she truly is scared of them… (grins the ultimate evil grin) Anyway, thank you for the review!

_XXBlackfireXX:_ Yes, I like writing bonus chapters, and continuation on this chapter is only _slightly _different than the first one (as you will see when you read it) thank you for reviewing!

_Pandastacia: _All of your questions will be answered in this chapter. Jk, I have no idea what I'm writing… it's so sad… but I enjoy it. Hope you enjoy this chapter. OH. When you said 'this will turn out interesting, even if not well…' what does that mean (cowers) I feel so pressured…. Thanks for the review!

BLAH: Well, this is… another chapter! I apologize for the two weeks wait as well as the extra hours today that it took me to write it (I've been so preoccupied and tired that I've not found the time to sit down and write… sighs) Well, enjoy! I have to say, I'm very excited to write the Shippuden version of this… I have most of it planned out (wink wink)

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What do I do? I'm aware of Sasuke's eyes boring into the back of my head. What do I do? What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?! I'm suddenly lost for words. Yeah, it's easy to talk to Sasuke when we're in front of all those people, but alone? This will be the first time I've seen him since… and why is he acting that way towards me? Is he angry with me? I glance at him and we made eye contact.

"_Then why are you smiling?" I said, "Oh, it must be my face, huh?" I pointed at my neck. "Is it really that bad?"_

_He shook his head, "No, it doesn't. I was smiling because you're so cute in your sleep." He smile broadened shyly, "I should have woken you up earlier but I… wanted to watch you sleep… you look so peaceful." He looked away, a slight blush appearing on his cheek._

_I stared at him with wide eyes, and felt my cheeks heat up. "W—what?" I said "What are you…" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Sasuke that I was… __cute?__ How was that even possible. "What are you talking about, Sasuke?"_

_He leaned towards me, "I was just too shy to say so before, especially in front of the others, that is why I sent them away, so we could be alone." He kept coming in._

I blinked in surprise of the sudden memory and looked away, blushing. I shook my head vigorously. No, you idiot! I wanted to scream at myself, it wasn't _Sasuke_ you were about to kiss, it was Orochomaru! I wanted to throw up just for heck of it.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

I looked up at him in surprise. "Whaa?" I asked, dazed. Why does Sasuke look different? I can't put a finger on it. "Did you do something with your hair?"

He gave me a puzzled look.

"Or maybe you face…" I shook my head, "Anyway, just trying to forget some nasty memories."

"What kind of memories?" he asked.

I sighed. Why was he acting like he didn't care and yet was only slightly interested or concerned? He's so confusing sometimes. "You really don't want to know… but it has something to do with you, in a creepy pedophile sort of way."

I was looking away but I would have _killed_ to see the sort of expression that was playing on his face. "But… the reason why I wanted you to come here with me is…"

This is my dilemma. I have absolutely no idea what I should… say. How should I approach him? What should my tactics be? I might have said to the Hokage that I have a chance of changing Sasuke's mind, but did I mean it? HECK NO! How should I act? What sort of thing would make Sasuke trust me? That's when I realized it.

"I don't know you at all." I muttered out loud randomly, talking to myself.

"What?" Sasuke asked, and I heard a mix of emotions in his voice. Confusion, surprise… and hurt? Must be my imagination.

"No really," I said, "I have no idea how to act around you. I don't know what you think of me, or what you want me to act, I have no idea…" how to make you do what I'm supposed to make you do. "I'm not sure …"

"Grace…"

"No!" I said, "It's true, Sasuke. I don't know you at all. I mean, I guess I sort of got to like you, you know, and I'd even go as far as to say that we might even be friends… but, I have no idea _who_ you are. I know _about_ you. I know about your family, I know about your brother, about what happened those years ago, I know about your revenge, and that it's your brother that you are seeking out to kill, I know that it is because your brother killed your family… I know that you are alone." I looked up at him, "I just don't know how… To make alone no longer."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What are they _doing_ in there?!" Ino seethed. _How dare that girl go into a secluded area with MY man!_

Sakura had mixed emotions. Does she agree with Ino? Or does she disagree for the sake that, well, it's Ino. She decided to agree. "I'm not sure," she said, only mildly hiding the irritation in her voice.

Lee also was jumping in his seat. He didn't even really get a chance to talk to his beloved. They did, after all, have quite a few things to talk about. After conversing with Gai-sensei he found out two things. Not only where he and Grace not getting married, she didn't even consider them _dating_. He clutched his heart, _Oh my beloved!_ He thought, _How you tear my devoted heart out and throw it to the ground! Your cruel cold heart only spurs me on to melt it with the power of love! _He punched the air, _You will soon be my bride!_

Neji watched Lee with an irritated expression. _Why does he always think with his face. You can practically see what he's thinking… __And what does he mean by Grace and he dating? She wouldn't date __**him.**_He distinctly remembered the day that he had the mortifying job of training her. He _almost_ shuddered. Hyuuga never shudder. But still… it would be bizarre if she did date him. Noting her reactions to him thus far the Hyuuga came to the relieving conclusion that no, the two could not be dating. He froze at the thought. Why was that a relief?

Shikamaru watched the door that Sasuke and Grace had entered. Who was that girl? She was curious, to be sure. At first he didn't even really think of her. He was just like, oh, girl, whatever, next subject. He never would have guessed that she was a proctor. But she's not even a ninja… he narrowed his eyes; he'd have to think about this one…

Choji pushed some chips down his throat. That girl, Grace he thought her name was. She was pretty cute. She didn't seem to like him though… he glanced at Shikamaru, _that's strange, Shikamaru hasn't taken his eyes off that door… I wonder if he likes her. He's probably just curious. Man I'm hungry… food… foood…. Fooood…. Fooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood!_

Tenten sighed with boredom. These people are just soooo boring…. She wished she could just throw some weapons at them and wake them up! MAKE THEM DO SOMETHING!

Hinata watched with fear as she heard Naruto talking enthusiastically to Kiba about Grace. Did he really like her? Does he have a crush on her? She quivered, looking down._ I'm not surprised if he does, Grace is taller, and prettier, and braver, and older than me. _

"And she's so funny too!" Naruto said. "But she had this really annoying dog, Bingley, who she acts like he can hear and understand her! It's really annoying because sometimes she refuses to hang out with me and just hangs out with Bingley."

"I don't think that's a bad thing." Kiba said. "I hang out with Akamaru all the time."

"Yeah," Naruto said, "But that's different, Grace has _friends."_

Kiba glared at Naruto.

"And she's also really cool, ya' know? I mean, she's just so much fun to hang out with, and she's really smart but also kind of stupid, like, she's smart but she just makes some mistakes, it's actually kind of cute."

"Then why don't _you_ ask her out?" Kiba asked.

Naruto blinked at Kiba, "Well, I mean, I don't like her _that_ way anymore," Hinata breathes a sigh of relief "don't get me wrong, I used to but now we're just friends. Besides, she wouldn't like me that way ever. She doesn't even like _Sasuke_ because he's three years younger than her."

"She doesn't like _Sasuke_?" Ino said, cutting into the conversation. "Is she like, gay or something?"

"No!" Naruto said. "But you want to know something, blondie?" Like he has any right to talk.

"What?" Ino snapped.

"I think Sasuke likes her."

Silence…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I just, I want to be there for you but how can I when I don't even know—"

"WHAT?!" a scream came shattering to our ears. I recognized the voice as Ino.

"What is that?" I asked.

Sasuke looked like he wasn't pleased with the change of subject, nor with the original subject. What's his deal? "You…" he said, "You don't know how to act around me?"

"Nope." I said. What sort of thing would make Sasuke… want to stay? Should I flirt? Should I not flirt? Should I just be friends? Should I yell at him? Should I plead? WHAT?! "I don't really know because I don't know how I feel about you."

There was an awkward silence.

"How… you—you feel about me?" he asked, his eyes wide.

It was that moment that I realized how awkward that sentence had been. I blanched, "Don't get me wrong, Sasuke!" I said, "I didn't mean it that way! Believe me, you don't have to worry," I patted his arm reassuringly; "You'll never have to worry about me liking you that way." Jeez, I hope I didn't scare him, the poor thing. Imagine how horrified or upset he would be if he found out that I liked him? Hypothetically of course. I don't like him. Anyway, "I just meant whether or not you're my friend. I mean, _I'm _your friend."

He just stared at me and then his eyes furrowed, putting on this passive deep expression. I like that expression. My own eyebrows furrowed in confusion, since when did I like Sasuke's brooding look? Weird, huh. "I…" he started, "I just want you to act yourself." He said. "And…"

My eyes widened as I felt something touching my hand. I looked down to see Sasuke's hand on mine. "Sasuke…" I said, "What are you…"

"GRACE!" Naruto yelled, bursting through the door. "Grace, run for your life!" he was brusquely pushed out of the way by a screaming, raging blonde crazy girl. If my eyes were wide from the shocking hand movement of Sasuke earlier (the hand holding thing… totally took me by surprise) they widened in fear now. I clutched Sasuke's hand tightly.

"Save me," I whispered. I knew that Ino's rage was directed at me. _This _is when I wish my body guards were around! (Ryuichi went to talk to the examiners about something. He's ignoring me because of our escapade this morning. Believe me, I'll never forgive him for dashing uncalled for into my bathroom, throwing open the shower curtain and checking me to make sure I wasn't injured. IT WAS JUST A SPIDER!!) However, right now, I was all alone.

Clutching Sasuke's hand might have reassured me, but believe me when I say that I wished I could just die than have done that. Ino noticed the hand holding (although it wasn't like a lovey dovey sort of thing, just a terrified sort of thing, don't worry) and clenched her fists. Sakura dashed in behind her.

"Ino, what are you…" she trailed off at the sight of me and Sasuke, sitting there on the steps, holding hands. I glanced down and noticed it as well (almost for the first time). I let go.

"Ah!" I said, "That—that wasn't anything weird!" I said, standing up and taking a step away from Sasuke, "Please don't—"

I shrieked as I was picked up into the air. "DON'T WORRY!" Lee said, "I will rescue you from this place!" he dashed out of the back room and onto the balcony. We shortly reached the area where the other Genin were waiting. "Don't worry my future bride I will not let some crazy hooligans hurt you!"

"I'm thankful that you saved me," I said dryly, "But _please_ don't refer to me as your future bride."

Lee looked horror struck. "But_ WHY_?" he asked, horrified.

"Because we're not even dating. Believe me, I can name plenty of guys in this room I'd actually _like _to date, and I'm sorry Lee, but you're not one of them."

I froze as I felt two malicious pairs of eyes boring into the back of my head.

"Who might…" Tenten started.

"Those people be?" Sakura finished.

I turned around to look at the two girls. They were scarier in real life! "W—why do you want to know?" I asked, scared to the very core.

Tenten smiled.

I flinched away from her.

She drew something out that could only be torture equipment. "Let's just say that you _want _to tell me…"

"Ok," I said, giving in, "I'll tell you, but after this part of the exam, okeydokie?"

"Eh," Tenten said, not sure how to respond to the strange foreign word, "Sure." She and Sakura smiled at each other. It's strange, the fact that I have a feeling that Tenten and Sakura and I might actually become best friends. Who would have guessed that we'd get along so well? When 

I say 'get along well' I mean that 'they torture me' and 'I do as they say so I don't die'. Regardless, I have to say I think I'll have fun with them. Maybe I'll actually tell them who I like. Granted, I really only like, like them in the Shippuden, as right now they're all way too young but I guess it can't hurt to tell them… if I make them swear never to tell. Ever. _Ever. _

Man would that be embarrassing.

"Line up contestants!" Ibiki shouted.

I watched in amazement at the obedience and swiftness it took for all the Genin to quickly line up in front of the Hokage and the exam proctors (luckily I wasn't apart of it) in a flashy order. All for the exception on Naruto who of course caused trouble. But even he did as the Ibiki asked.

"FIRST OFF!" Anko shouted. Did I mention how well she can project her voice? Not to mention she was wearing a clip on microphone thing. "I would like to congratulate you for passing the second test." She smirked at them.

I saw Gai-sensei say something to Kakashi, actually quite a lot and then saw Kakashi notice Kakashi. Weird how funny that is. Then I saw Gai-sensei get all pissed off. I chortled to myself in amusement.

"Lord Hokage will now explain the third test!" Anko said. "Listen carefully. Now, if you please, Lord Hokage."

"Yes," the Hokage said, "For the coming Third Test… before I explain that there is something I'd like you to know. It explains the _real_ reasons for this test."

Shocked faces spun through the crowd of Genin. Only I and the other adults weren't surprised. After all, I've seen this before, haven't I? The answer is _yes._

"Why do we have allied countries taking the exam together?" he asked. "To promote friendship among the countries. To raise the level of the shinobi. I don't want you to be confused about the true meaning. The exam is…" he took the pipe out of his mouth. He sternly gazed at them. I shuddered. I've only had to have that gaze on me once or twice (I won't go into the details of those accounts, but let me tell you, I wanted to _die_.) "A replacement for war among allied countries."

"What does that mean?" Tenten asked.

"If you go back in time, the current allies were enemies. Who fought each other over who would rule. In order to prevent wasteful fighting, the stage that these countries chose for battle... that is the origins of this Chuunin selection exam."

"Why the hell do we have to do that crap?" Naruto shouted, "Isn't this the thing for deciding who's a Chuunin?"

"It is a fact that this exam decides which shinobis have what it takes to become a Chuunin. But on the toher hand, this exam has another side… where each country's Shinobis risks their own life to protect their land's prestige."

"Prestige?" Ino asked.

"Watching this third exam with be leaders and influential individuals from many countries who make up the clients of the shinobi. And the leaders of the countries will also be there to watch each of your battles. If the strength of a country is clear, that country will receive more clients. And, conversely, if seen as weak, they will lose clients. And this will signal to potential enemy countries that 'our village has this much power.' So it will send a political message to the outsiders."

"Yeah, but why?!" Kiba shouted, "Why do we have to risk our lives in a battle?!"

"The strength of the country is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi." The Hokage said. "And the shinobi's true strength is… born only though life-risking battles."

Personally I try to make sense of it all but at this point I think I'm just as lost as the other… I mean, it makes sense when you think about it, but I'd rather not be the one taking part in the 'life-risking battles'. Just my personal opinion.

I looked up at Ryuichi, but he was intently watching the Genin. I think he is a Jounin. I'll have to ask later how different the Chuunin exam was for him. For such a perverted comical guy he's being surprising quiet. It makes me wonder if that's all just a face he puts on, like his ANBU mask. You know something, for all that I've sworn to hate him for all eternity, I do think he has _amazing_ eyes…

"This exam is a place to see each country's strength and to show off your own strength. It only has meaning because lives are at risk. And that's why those that have come before you have fought in the Chuunin exam for this dream that is meaningful."

"But then why…" Tenten began, "Do you say stuff about it being for 'friendship'?"

"I said it in the beginning; I don't want you to confuse the purpose of this. By losing life and establishing balance. This is the shape of friendship in the world of the Shinobi. Before we begin the third test I will tell you one more thing. This is not just a test…This is a life-risking battle… with your dreams and your country's prestige on the line."

"I get it!" Naruto exclaimed. Do you really blondie? I ignore, of course, that a few weeks ago I too had hair that was a few shades darker than Naruto… it's more brown than blond I SWEAR! No it's not… we'll have this conversation later, ok?

"I don't care what it is… just hurry up and tell us what this life-risking battle entails." Gaara said. My eyes widened. I forgot about him. I totally didn't even notice him in the heat of all that's been going on. I can't believe… I forgot how terrifying he is.

"Yes," the Hokage said, "I'd like to now explain the third test but.."

He was interrupted by excessive coughing. "Actually…" more coughing. Everyone turned in shock towards a few meters away from the Hokage. A man appeared, kneeling and coughing. "Umm… before the third test there's… something I'd like you to do…" he coughed some more. The man looked like shit, no doubt. What's he doing as a shimobi!? He needs REST! He needs sleep… just _looking_ at him makes me want to go to sleep. "Umm… it's a preliminary for the third test to decide who gets to participate in the main event."

"Huh?" Sakura asked, "The preliminary?"

"Preliminary?" Shikamaru yelled, "What do you mean?!"

"Sensei…" Sakura asked, "I don't understand this preliminary but… why aren't all the people here allowed to participate in the next test?"

"Umm…" he said, "Because the first and second test may have been too easy this year… we have a bit too many people remaining. According to the Chuunin exam rules, we must have a preliminary and… reduce the number of participants for the third test."

"No way…" Sakura murmured disbelievingly to herself.

"As Lord Hokage indicated earlier there will be many guests at the third test, so the fights could take too long, and we are limited in time… Umm… so anyway… those who are not feeling well…Those who feel like quitting after hearing these explanations… please come forward now. Since we will be starting the preliminary immediately…"

"What?! Right now?!" Kiba yelled. I sighed. People yell to much…

Even Naruot gulped.

It was then that I realized something very important had been changed. Kabuto… he didn't get to meet Team7, did he? He didn't help them… I wonder what that's going to change…

"Um…" Kabuto said, "I'm going to quit."

Naruto didn't even look like he cared that much.

_I wonder why he's quitting,_ Naruto thought, _Hey, isn't he that guy who's glasses broke earlier… why does he have new ones…_

I also realized another change. That sound guy's arms. Sasuke didn't break them, did he? I wonder how that's going to change. Probably not that much. Actually…

"Ummm… you're Yakushi Kabuto from the Leaf… right? You may leave now… Umm… does anyone else want to retire? Oh… umm… I forgot to tell you that from now on it will be individual battling. You may raise your hand based on your own judgement."

Kabuto began to walk away.

I walked down the steps and sprinted over to the Hokage. I wanted to hear the good stuff. I saw the Genin give me quizzical glances, and even Hayate looked surprised. I smiled at him and then slowed to a walk when I reached the Hokage. The Hokage gave me a curious look.

"I've seen him before," Anko said. "Didn't he quit during the final test last year? What's he thinking? Yakushi Kabuto's Data… He's failed six straight times."

"What kind of record is that?" The Hokage asked.

"Since his Academy days he was a student who didn't stand out much, his grades were average. He finally graduated on his third try. His completed missions are c-rank twice, and D-rank 14 times. No spectacular battle history here. But…"

"But..?"

"It's about before he entered the Academy." She said.

The Hokage looked interested. I really wanted to butt in here but I felt like this was important. I felt like one of those time travelers, you know what's going to happen and you always have to be really careful about what you say or do.

"Do you remember?" Anko asked, "That young boy brought back from the battle at Bellflower pass."

"I do…" The Hokage said, "As I remember a Jounin member of the medical team brought back a child of the enemy who had survived the battle. So he is that child…"

"Lord Hokage," I said.

Anko and the Hokage looked at me in surprise. "What is it Grace?"

I looked at Orochomaru, he was only a few feet away, and then I leaned in closer so only he and Anko could hear me. "You must arrest Kabuto."

"What?" Anko asked, "What do you mean?"

"He's a spy," I hissed, "For Orochomaru, believe me, you _don't_ want him as your enemy, you _must_ arrest him, or kill him, or whatever it takes to make sure he'll never return to Orochomaru."

"On what terms do you suggest…" Anko began.

"Trust me." I said. "I know." I stared at the Hokage, "He will cause much grief for this village if you don't do something. Right now."

"Very well," the Hokage said. He motioned and a few ANBU appeared. "Take care of that boy," the Hokage said, "He's a spy for Orochomaru. Make sure _he cannot escape_."

They nodded and disappeared, going to find him. I only hope they can do so.

"You'll want to send reinforcements." I said, "After all, he might act like he's nothing more than a Genin, but he's more than a mach for Tsunade." The Hokage's eyes widened.

"Anko." He instructed. She nodded and disappeared as well. "She will get more reanforcements." He assured me. It's nice to know that the Hokage trusts me.

"One more thing…" My eyes trailed to Orochomaru. My breath caught in my throat. Although he has a different face, those eyes… they bore into mine in a death glare. "Nothing." I said, "I have nothing more to say," I said, barely able to keep the panic out of my voice. I stepped aside and quickly stood by Kakashi and Gai. I felt safe next to them.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he clutched his shoulder. "Ugh.." he muttered. _The waves of pain are becoming more and more frequent._ Sakura and Naruto gazed at him worriedly. Even Neji and Lee glanced over with looks of concern.

"Umm… now…" Hayate said, "There are no more retiring, right?"

"Sasuke!" Sakura said, "You should also quit this prelim!"

"Huh?" Naruto said, shocked.

"You have been strange since that Orochomaru guy attacked you."

"That's right," Naruto said, "That mark still hurts, right?"

"If you continue…" Sakura said. She shook, "_Please…_" a tear dropped. I glanced over at her. I walked over. I feel like one of those people who just interrupt everything.

"Sakura…" I said.

"I'm afraid…" she said, wiping her cheek. "You are in no condition to fight right now!!"

Sasuke clenched his teeth.

"I can see how much pain you're—"

I grabbed her from behind, pulling her away from Sasuke and slapping a hand over her mouth. Naruto, Sasuke and especially Sakura had very shocked expressions on their faces. "Sakura," I said. "It is Sasuke's choice." My voice was colder than I'd prefer, but actually, that might be ok. "You don't understand." I said.

Sakura tore herself away from me, "And what makes you think that you understand?" she asked angrily.

"Because." I said, "I understand what it is that Sasuke must accomplish." I said, "He is an avenger. If you don't understand that, than there is nothing I can do for you." I said to her. "Please understand. Sasuke _will_ be ok. I promise."

She nodded. "But still…" she said, "Sasuke, it's too dangerous…"

"This isn't just a test for me," Sasuke said, "If you take that away from me…"

"You bastard!" Naruto snapped, "Sakura is just worried about you!"

"Naruto," Sasuke said, "I also want to fight you."

Naruto blinked in surprised.

"Ugh…" Sasuke clutched his shoulder again.

Seeing him in pain like that made something hurt. What was it? Was I having another heart attack feelings? The last time I felt that was when Sasuke was first attacked by Orochomaru. I reached out but he slapped my hand away.

"You too." He said, glaring at me again, "You don't understand."

I blinked in surprise. Why… "Fine." I said, "I don't understand, and I'll never understand you, Sasuke." I turned and walked away, up the stair case and I stood, brooding, next to Ryuichi. I was angry beyond belief. Strange, I mean, a few weeks ago I'd be pissed about Sasuke talking that way to me, but I wouldn't… I wouldn't feel like I wanted to cry.

"Um…now…let's begin the preliminary." Hayate said, "This preliminary will consist of one on one fighting. You will basically fight as if in a real life confrontation." The Genin gulped. Well, mainly Naruto. "Since we now have exactly 20 entrants, we will conduct 10 matches and… umm… the winners will advance to the third test. There are basically no rules. The fight continues until one of you dies or is knocked out or admits your defeat.

"Um…" he continued, "If you don't want to die then quickly acknowledge your defeat. But when I decide that the winner has clearly been established… um… since we don't want to pointlessly increase the amount of corpses, I'll jump in and stop things. And the object that controls your destiny is…"

"Open it," Ibiki said into a microphone that was attached to his head or something. One of those head sets.

"This electric score-board will show the match-ups for each battle. Now, this is sudden but let's announce the two names of the first fight."

Everyone stared at the score board and then the two names flashed on. _Sasuke Uchiha vs. Yoroi Akado._

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What's the matter?" Ryuichi asked me. I glanced up at him and realized that I must have a funny expression. Pissed off and concerned don't mix well. "Are you ok? You had a little spat there."

I glared at him. Then I sighed. "I don't know," I said, "I just… I'm getting more and more sensitive when it comes to Sasuke. And I don't even know why. If I just knew _why_ I keep reacting this way it would make things so much easier to deal with, because I could just make it go away."

"I don't think you can make this sort of thing go away." Ryuichi said.

"Why?" I asked, "Why can't I make it go away?"

Ryuichi didn't respond. I wish I could see his face. "I guess when you realize what it is, Grace, and then you'll realize that it isn't something that you can just throw away." He didn't say anything else.

I didn't say anything else either. What could he be talking about… what sort of thing is the sort of thing that you can't ignore? That you can't throw away... My eyebrows furrowed. But… the only thing that I can think of is…

"The two participants in the first fight are Yoroi Akado and Sasuke Uchiha. Are you ready?"

"Yes." Yoroi said.

"Yeah…" Sasuke said in that cool smirky way of his. It both made me excited and irritated at the same time. Then I remembered.

"Now, will all of those who are not participating in the event please go to the upper level." In other words, go annoy ME! I'm already in the upper level (the balcony) they went up. I saw Kakashi pause while going up to the balcony. He paused near Sasuke. He said something only Sasuke could hear. _Don't use the sharingan_ is what he's saying.

"Sasuke!" I yelled, "He can absorb chakra, be careful and don't come in close contact!"

Sasuke looked up at me in surprise.

"She can't do that!" Yoroi shouted. "And how would she know…"

"The battle hasn't started yet," Hayate said, "So she's not breaking the rules." He gave me a curious look as to ask how I suddenly knew that.

I just sunk back into despair. I threw my arms around Naruto's head and my body slumped. "I swore to hate him forever…" I whimpered, "Why did I just help him?"

Naruto stumbled backward and we fell, lying side by side. "I don't know," Naruto said. "Why do you do anything?"

I froze. "Are you really Naruto?" I asked, sitting up, "Because that was a really deep question."

Naruto frowned, "I mean, why do you do stuff like breath or knock me over? Because you're weird."

I scowled, "No, you're Naruto all right." I muttered.

I got up and sighed. "I'm so hungry."

"I SECOND THAT!" Choji yelled.

"Ryuichi!" I ordered, "Go get us some food!"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm a body guard, not a servant."

"How about you go get food for all of us (or at least just me)" I glanced at Choji, "and I'll forgive you for groping me in the shower."

"He groped you in the shower?" Naruto said.

The Genin were giving Ryuichi a horrified look.

"I thought she was being attacked!" Ryuichi yelled irritably. This definitely wasn't the first time he's tried to explain this today. First the maid, then the Hokage, then Konohamaru, then cook, then everyone else I've met today.

"In the shower?" I seethed. "Who gets attacked in the shower?"

He just stared at me.

"Oh, right." I said. "Anyway, go get—"

"Now," Hayate said, "Please begin."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

END OF CHAPTER 18!! And that's the end of it, hahahaha….

Jk.

Here's the end of the bonus chapter. And it's a little different...

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I glanced over to see that my cart partner was staring with wide green eyes at the entrance of the underground ride. Perhaps I shouldn't have suggested this ride? How was I supposed to know Grace hated horror movies or rides? I sighed.

"Am I exasperating you?" Grace snapped. But from the look in her eyes I knew that she was too scared to be really angry.

"Just don't scream too loudly." I said, "It's embarrassing enough to be seen on this ride with you."

Grace shot me a desperate look. Did I go too far? I didn't mean to say that… no matter what I do I always seem to say the wrong things around Grace.

"I'm just really, really, really glad I didn't wear the dress," she said, "I'd probably end up not wearing it by the end of the ride."

A vision of a dressless Grace flashed through my mind and my face heated. More and more I've been thinking of Grace in… a non _friend_ sort of way… is that normal? This is _Grace._ "Well, then you'd be sued and I'd have to pay it, probably, since I have to pay for everything for you."

"You're welcome." She said sarcastically.

Sometimes I don't understand her. We both shut up as our cart began to pick up speed and head towards the entrance. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Grace stiffen. Is she really that scared? The ride hasn't even started yet. "You know, if this ride was actually dangerous they wouldn't allow people to go on it." I said. I wanted to hit myself over the head. I also sound like I'm angry with her. No wonder she doesn't like me that much.

"You never know what might go wrong…" she said, "Besides… I'll probably die of fright." She let out a small squeak as we were engrossed in darkness. "Sasuke…" she said, "Are you there?"

"Obviously." I said.

"Just for the record," Her voice said, because I was only starting to adjust to the darkness, "I've always sort of had a—AHHHHHHH!" she shrieked as our cart took a sudden downhill decent. It was straight downwards. My hand clutched the side of the cart for about two seconds before I relaxed and actually started to enjoy myself. I actually was looking _forward_ to this ride.

Except for the fact that I was going deaf. A light appeared and then something flashed in front of us. Grace's volume increased ten fold. I rolled my eyes. How am I supposed to enjoy this ride with that _racket_?

I decided I'd just have to get us off at the next opening. I noticed before getting on that once in a while the ride will surface. We could get of there… I shouted so she could hear me, "I'll get us off if you want." She nodded.

Is it sad that I've gotten so bored with the ride that I'm no longer paying attention to the 'horror' whatever that keeps popping up. I've seen almost everything that they could possibly throw at me.

Grace quieted down. "I just want to get off." She whimpered.

Half of me wanted to make fun of her and half of me wanted to comfort her. This transition is so strange for me that I almost didn't respond. "Ok, we'll—"

I was cut off by her screaming again. Something just popped up. It was covered in what must be 'blood'. Jeez, no wonder ninja don't go to these things, it's pitiful! She grabbed my hand and held it tightly, screaming what seemed to be my name. She then, just as suddenly, stopped screaming and just whimpered, still holding onto my hand. "Sasuke…" she whimpered. My heart skipped a beat. The way she said my name sent butterflies to my stomach.

Then a headless man popped up right in front of her face, only a few inches away, and then disappeared. The nerve of these people, can't they tell she's in utter panic? I remembered that it was because of me that she was on the ride to begin with. I felt like cutting my own head off. She grabbed me by the shirt and then hid her face in my shoulder. My stomach was making so many flips that I was worried I might actually throw up on her. Cautiously, I reached out and put an arm around her shoulder.

I felt… so…

I blinked as we surfaced. Now. I grabbed at Grace, quickly undid the seatbelts and then jumped into the air, carrying Grace. I looked around in mid air for an area to land and then landed there, jumping up again to finally land on the ground. I opened my arms to let Grace go to the ground but to my shock she just clung on, keeping herself up with her arms. "You're off the ride, Grace." I said.

No answer.

"Grace?!" I said, panic filling me.

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled, "GRACE!" he ran over to me. "What were you doing bringing Grace on a horror ride!?" he yelled at Sasuke, "When the ride runner told us that you went on this ride—"

"It was all Kakashi-sensei and I could do to keep him from following you guys." Sakura said, running up to them. I looked beyond them to see Kakashi apologizing to the owner of the carnival. This probably the first time someone has jumped off the ride. _I'm going to get it._

"Hey Grace," I heard Naruto say, "You can get off of Sasuke now."

"You knew that she hated horror rides?" I suddenly accused Naruto, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think you'd actually want to go on a ride with her." Naruto snapped. He reached up and grabbed Grace by the back, trying to pry her off of me.

"NO!" she yelled and then wrapped her legs around my waste, "You can't get me!"

Kakashi appeared and gently poked Grace. "Grace?" he said, "You're off the ride. See? You can hear my voice, and Naruto and Sakura are here as well."

She lifted her head and looked at us. Then she looked at me. Her eyes widened and she yelped, letting go and hitting the ground sitting. "I—I—I—I didn't mean to hold on to you like that!" she said, "I was just so—I _wasn't_ frightened," she said, sniffing, "I thought you might be frightened so I decided to—hug you." She got up, shaking and dusted herself off. "As you can see I'm perfectly fine." She stomped off, embarrassed most likely, and in an uneven line of path made her way through the crowd.

oOo

I stumbled slightly. Of course, I was really scared… sooooo scared. Scared enough to NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER go on a carnival ride ever again. But I couldn't let _Sasuke_ know that. Jeez, that would be embarrassing if he knew I was scared. I hope he didn't think I scared that I actually resorted to using him as a form of protection. I mean, he'd probably be so mad if he knew that… or just like 'whatever'. He'd probably not even care. I doubt that he knew that I was scared though. "Poor little Sasuke-kun…" I muttered sarcastically to myself, although why, I don't know. I halted "Oh no!" I said, "I forgot Sasuke-kun at the ride!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

THE END! (of the bonus chapter)

Well, it's not as long as part one but whatever, it's hard writing from Sasuke's point of view… because it's so hard to know what he thinks like… I mean, I know what he thinks like, you can get that idea when you read the manga or watch the anime… but how does Sasuke think when he likes someone?! If you guys have any suggestions, please give them to me… I love your reviews.

I've decided that I won't write any more bonus chapters unless I'm inspired to do so, but in the month between the preliminary and the third exam… there'll be some fun stuff, I promised. I know some reviewer mentioned something about how it would be cool if she wore the dress in front of all the guys one day… hm… maybe I'll think about that .

Thank you for reading and please review and tell me what you think!

fUnKyToEs


	19. The Chuunin Exams: Part VIII

_**TITLE:**_ Truthspeaker

_**AUTHOR:**_ fUnKyToEs

_**CHAPTER**_: The Chuunin Exams: Part VIII

_**WORDS:**_4,114 words… sooooo short…

_**DISCLAIMER:**_ Again, I do not own the plot, characters and a lot of the dialogue of this chapter.

_**REVIEWERS:**_

**White Alchemist Taya:**Yes, I feel bad for Ryuichi as well, but they don't hate each other it's just more like they have a brother sister relationship and they can't get along… yeah, Grace and Orochomaru don't get along very well… Anyway! I'm glad you read my story and thanks for reviewing!

**Inscape.peril:** I love it when people think I need mental help (sarcastic)… Although coming from you that's probably an insult…Then again, I totally agree with you: you are a knuthead. Oh, and thanks for kidnapping me yesterday, my mom had a cow because I didn't end up getting any work done on my summer reading… haha… ah… I still have to rescue my bike from your house… sooo lazy today!

**XXBlackfireXX:** Yeah, I can't WAIT to write the Shippuden version because I have a lot planned out… it's going to be a lot funnier than Truthspeaker but also more serious (and probably more romantic as well ) Yeah, Grace thinks that Ryuichi is her slave…

**Uzura-chan:** I'M BACK! So you're the one who suggested her wear the dress? Guess what (You'll find out when you read this chapter) but I've decided that the kunoichi have a bet and Grace looses and she has to do something crazy… what do you think it should be?! Yeah, I thought having the rest of the bonus chapter be from COTE be a good idea because it could show his conflicting feelings… I don't think there is such thing as using too many exclamation points… Hope you like this chappy!

**Valinor's Twilight**: I'm glad you like this chapter!

**Kibafangirl11:** O.O yes, it would be funny if all the guys chased her but I doubt that would happen… However, I have to admit when I read your suggestion about it being a romantic ride in disguise I was like 'damn! Why didn't _**I**_ think of that!?' oh well, too late now sniffs

**Warning 746: **I'm glad you can't wait! Sorry it took me so long to update.

**Pandastacia: **I totally agree: Sasuke is a ass… and a jerk… And soon Grace will realize this as well… evil grin… I totally can't wait till the Shippuden story!

**Random stuff… what's another word beside BLAH?!**

Sorry it took so long to update this, my computer has been having some issues with the internet (they broke up and it took a lot of technical relationship therapy to get them back together) Jk. But no really, I haven't been able to update yesterday so that's why I had to update today. I'm not fond of this chappy, but that's ok. PLEASE ENJOY!

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"…food…" I finished, distracted. My attention was diverted the scene below. I wanted to hate Sasuke so much right now and yet I could barely hold back the feelings of panic. I almost felt like I was going to throw up. Damn it, why can't I just hate the blasted little boy?! I'm really pissed about him blowing up at me like that (although why it bothers me I don't know, that just pisses me off even more) and I really just want to be angry. Why do I have to be worried about him?!

"Are you ready?" the freaky guy asked. What was his name? I glanced at the score board. Yoroi Akado. My eye twitched. How come every time I see that guy's name I think 'that kind of sounds like yaoi'…?! I guess it's what comes with a guy who… works for Orochomaru… now is the time to shudder. Jeesh, poor Sasuke. No, wait, Sasuke goes off with Orochomaru… no!

Yoroi hand was quickly being consumed by chakra. He's ready to find. Sasuke grabbed a kunai and Yoroi grabbed some shuriken throwing stars, throwing them at Sasuke. Had I been watching the anime or reading the manga, I would be like 'yeah, no sweat' but for some reason here in reality I actually _held_ my breath. Jeez, what a sucker am I? Sasuke swung back and the forward, blocking the shuriken with his kunai. I breathed again.

He cringed as his curse mark must be giving him more trouble. My eyebrows hunched. He shouldn't fight in this condition! He fell over. Well, more like collapsed. Again, he shouldn't be fighting like this, but who am I to say? I already tried to explain that he shouldn't (I did, so don't argue) but he did sort of blow me off saying that I don't know him. I probably know him better than anyone else here, although it's not from actually_ knowing_ him just from reading about him. Man, I sound like a stalker…

Yoroi ducked and the shuriken as they passed over him.

Sasuke looked up in surprise.

"Watch out," I whispered, "He's right next to you…"

Naruto and Sakura looked at me, puzzled.

Sasuke barely had time to roll away as Yoroi slammed the floor where his head was. "Uh!" Sasuke grunted as he clenched his kunai tighter. Yoroi looked up in shock. Sasuke's foot shot out, catching Yoroi in a neck lock as Sasuke slammed Yoroi's head into the floor.

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You idiot!" I yelled, "I said no close contact!"

Yoroi smirked as he grabbed Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. I could actually see the chakra being absorbed. That boy… I clenched my fists. Why doesn't he ever listen? Didn't I warn him about Yoroi's ability to absorb chakra? The answer is yes.

Yoroi's fist came up, catching Sasuke under the chin, and then slammed him down again. Sasuke's body shuddered as it tried to regain some of the energy that was stolen. Yoroi leaped to his feet, advancing on Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shrieked.

Sasuke's face had panic on it. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to fight Yoroi in this condition. I watched as Yoroi grabbed Sasuke's forehead, forcibly drawing the chakra out. It was right now when I realized just how much I wanted Sasuke to get stronger. Seeing him so… powerless… I felt … hopeless… I bit my lip. I just hope that the fight does go as it does in the story, because at least Sasuke wins then. Sasuke's hand quivered, and then dropped to the ground. "Sasuke!" I called out. I wanted to get his attention.

His eyes shifted towards me and my eyes met his. There was a pause. "Ugh… damn…you!" he shouted as he kicked Yoroi off of him. Yoroi picked himself up, wiping the blood off his mouth.

"Hehehe… you guinea pig… you still have power left?" he said. His hand started to glow with power again. I was shocked at how much was still going how the original was. I was sure that by telling Sasuke this guy could absorb chakra from the beginning would change it… the only difference is it's not Sasuke this time who is finding that out the hard way. Sasuke breathed hard, panting.

I clenched my fist to my chest, clenching my teeth. I don't know why I'm so worried. Seeing Sasuke like this… Naruto glanced at me. "Sasuke!" He yelled, "Are you really Sasuke Uchiha? Is that the best you can do?!" Sasuke looked up in surprise at the blond.

"You don't have time for sight seeing!" Yoroi yelled, running towards Sasuke, "I'll suck up all your chakra! It's over!"

Orochimaru smirked.

I gasped in surprise. Blood spurted as Sasuke caught Yoroi in an upper side kick, under the chin. I believe that this is called the shadow of the dancing leaf; Lee did it before, didn't he? If I'm not mistaken, it should be followed by the lion combo… which is a series of kicks in mid air. "Though from here," Sasuke said, appearing right behind Yoroi, "I'm going original."

"Wow," I said, "Sasuke's really cool!" I grinned.

Tenten and Sakura's eyes snapped towards me, glinting. "What?" I asked, nervous from their expressions.

Tenten smiled evilly and was about to say something when our attention was diverted.

"It's over." Sasuke said.

"Ugh, Leaf shadow dance!" Yoroi said. Well, I was close enough. That's surprising that I'm able to remember such a small detail… perhaps I don't have the memory of a fish after all!

"Take this!" Sasuke said. But then he suddenly stiffened, his body becoming contorted in pain. He coughed blood. My fists clenched and I closed my eyes.

"The curse seal!" Naruto said, "It's opening or whatever!"

"No," Neji said, "It's retracting. Look!"

I looked up, to see that Sasuke was indeed controlling his curse seal. I breathed. Thank goodness, Sasuke, you're ok. I'm glad that he's strong enough to deal with it. This is exactly what I mean, when I say I want him to be stronger. I know what's going to happen, and yet I have no power to stop it. I need those around me to be strong enough to stop it themselves… or perhaps I need to become stronger… but I'm not a ninja! How the—

"Here is comes!" Sasuke smirked.

He spun, and in a side kick, wasn't fast enough. Yoroi blocked it with his arm. "Heh," he said, "Not enough!"

He blinked in surprise as Sasuke readjusted his attack. "Not enough," Kakashi said.

Sasuke swung down and punched him in the face, spinning to hit him with his other arm in the momentum of the first. He slammed his fist into Yoroi's chest. They were almost to the ground. "There's more!" Sasuke shouted. He spun his legs, smashing down on Yoroi's abdomen with his foot, shattering him down onto the ground. Everyone looked surprised. I was, although I knew this was happening. The floor cracked from the impact. Sasuke's body skidded off of Yoroi from the momentum and landed about a meter away. Sasuke was lying on the ground, too exhausted to even move. Hayate walked up to Yoroi, examining him. Hayate looked up in surprise, and then smiled. Sasuke was pushing himself to his feet, panting heavily, and wiping the blood from his mouth.

Hayate stood up. "I'm stopping the fight here… and thus… the winner of the first match, Sasuke Uchiha… has passed the prelims!"

I smiled. I felt so relieved that I felt like I was going to faint.

"YES!" Naruto shouted.

"Well, good job." Kakashi said, appearing behind him. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Hey Sasuke! Heh, heh… What a lame way to win! You're all beat up too! You idiot!" Naruto shouted down at him.

I growled and cracked my knuckles, then punched him in the head. "You idiot!" I shouted, "I was really worried about him!"

Sasuke looked at me in surprise. I smiled at him and gave him the thumbs up. He gave me a tired reassuring smile. Then he flinched, "Oww…" he said. He must be in a lot of pain.

"Kyaa! Sasuke!" Ino squealed.

"Man, I'm hungry!" Choji whined.

I just remembered that I was hungry too. I seemed to have lost my hunger during Sasuke's fight. Ino shot me a look as if to ask 'why did Sasuke give _you_ that smile?!'. That was when I realized… My eyes widened and at first I didn't know how to feel. Then my lips formed a small smile as I opened my mouth to say something to Sakura and Tenten.

"W…wow…" Hinata said, worried. Don't worry Hinata! Then again… you should probably worry if the fight is with Neji… I punched my fists; I really hope that Hinata can beat Neji! Someone needs too… then again, from what I heard Neji did fight Orochomaru to save me… maybe I shouldn't hate him so much… oh but I really want to! Whines in corner.

"Pft. That was nothing." Kiba said, smirking.

"Uchiha Sasuke." A medic nin said, after securing Yoroi's condition and sending him off on a stretcher. "Let the medical team treat your injuries now."

"You guys aren't needed." Kakashi said. "I'll take care of him." He bent down to Sasuke's level, "I'm going to take you to the back and… seal upa that curse." He said, putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Umm… we will now start the next match!" Hayate yelled. Well, as loud as someone who sounds like they lost their voice _can_ yell.

"Wait until after the prelims…" Sasuke said, "I want to watch the other matches."

"No." Kakashi said, "Don't get so mad. If we don't take care of it now, it will be too late. I won't listen to your selfishness anymore." Sasuke looked surprised at this comment, but didn't argue.

Everyone's attention, including mine, was at the score board thing. _Abumi Zaku vs. Shino Aburame. _This fight didn't interest me. I left Ryuchi. "I'm going with Kakashi," I told him, "You don't need to come." I walk down the stairs, quickly, before Shino could, and walk up to Kakashi. "I'll go with you." I told him. He gave me a long look, and then nodded. Together we helped Sasuke up. Kakashi walked behind Sasuke, but I walked beside him. He exited the room. We walked to where there were all these pillars. This is familiar.

"Take off your shirt." Kakashi said. Sasuke complied and I took it from him. He sat down. Kakashi took out a kunai and was about to stab himself in the hand when I stopped him.

"Kakshi-sensei," I said, "Would the seal be stronger if you used my blood?"

Even Sasuke found the energy to look at me, surprised. He's been having that expression a lot lately. I suppose it's not hard when you're exhausted. Kakashi's eyes met mine. "Probably," Kakashi said. And yet… I was surprised that he actually agreed. Does that mean that the seal would be stronger? Why? I set the shirt down and walked over to them, holding out my hand. Kakashi took it and placed the kunai at one end.

"That kunai is sterile, right?" I asked, suddenly panicking about all the diseases I could get from a dirty kunai.

"You don't have anything to worry about," he said. He pressed the kunai down, sliding it across my palm. I let out a short cry that probably made it sound like it hurt more than I would have liked people to know and closed my eyes as they watered in pain. He cut deep and it hurts a hell of a lot more than it looks. He took my hand and led it across Sasuke's body, making marks that looked like characters, but I couldn't tell because the blood was as thick and sort of ran. During the whole thing Sasuke had this embarrassed look on his face. At first I was surprised until I realized that _I _would be embarrassed if I had this done to me. Poor kid. By the end I felt very faint. "All right." Kakashi said. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a cloth. "Hold this to the cut. It'll stop the bleeding."

I nodded and pressed the cloth to my hand. I lost a lot of blood. I really, really felt like I was going to faint. I sat down. "Hang in there," Kakashi told Sasuke, "Just a little bit longer." He made some hand signs and then pressed his hand onto Sasuke's back.

Sasuke's eyes widened. He gasped in pain, "Guh… gwaah…" I bit my lip. He looks like he's in so much pain. Look at me, self pitying because of a silly little cut. The blood marks receded into the curse seal until all that was left was a circle around it. He panted heavily.

"The next time that curse tries to become active… this new seal should contain the power. But… Sasuke, this new seal… relies on the strength of your will. If you lose belief in yourself, and your will weakens… the curse will become wild again."

Sasuke's eyes drooped and closed. He collapsed onto the ground. I got up and walked over to him.

"He's totally drained," Kakashi said, "Time to rest."

"Kakashi," I said, "Orochomaru is right behind you." My attention was standing between Orochomaru and Sasuke. Sure, I was scared shitless, but I couldn't just stand to the side.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he spun around.

Orochomaru chortled. "So you knew I was here, looks like I underestimated you, girl. He started walking towards us. "Long time no see… Kakashi." He said smirking as he walked towards us.

"Orochomaru…" Kakashi said, taking a ready stance. He glowered at the older man. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not here to see _you_, Kakashi, I'm here for the boy behind you."

Kakashi blinked. "Why are after Sasuke…?!" Kakashi asked.

"For his sharingan." I said.

They looked at me in surprise.

Damn… I always mess things up… I just wasn't thinking. I've been so worked up over Sasuke that I haven't had time to realize that I've been talking without thinking about what I've been saying… I just hope that Orochomaru thinks I'm guessing.

"His sharingan?" Kakashi asked.

"How did you know?" Orochomaru asked me. His eyes narrowed. Shit! Any minute he's going to figure it out. "But she's right," he said, "I want the Uchiha blood…"

"What are your goals!?" Kakashi asked, glaring.

"The… newly created hidden sound village… that's _my_ village." Orochomaru asked. He smirked again the creep.

"You knew about this?" Kakashi asked me. He sounded angry, or upset. I could understand that.

I nodded, "I knew all along."

Orochomaru gave me another puzzled and somewhat pissed look. He's definitely figured it out by now.

"From just that," Orochomaru said, "You should be able to figure it out, Kakashi."

"Foolish ambition…" Kakashi said.

"Well, yeah, something like that…" Orochomaru said, "And for that purpose… I need a lot of pieces…"

"So Sasuke is also… one of those pieces…" Kakashi said.

"No." Orochomaru said, "Sasuke is much more important. And the guys taking the test right now…Are just… my _pawns_."

"You snake!" I yelled, "You can't have Sasuke's body!"

Orochomaru's eyes widened.

"If you get any closer to Sasuke…" Kakashi said, "Even if you are one of _those_ three ninjas… right now I can at least compete with you…"

"Hehe… hehe… hahaha!" Orochomaru started laughing hysterically. I flinched away from him, scared even with Kakashi between us.

"What's so funny…?" Kakashi asked, pissed.

"What you do, what you say… it's all off." Orochomaru said.

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"That seal you did is meaningless." Orochomaru said, "You understand… to achieve a goal… the heart that will accept even the most evil power… that is the type he is… an avenger…"

"You're wrong!" I shouted. "Sasuke's isn't like that!"

"Oh, but he is!" Orochomaru said, smirking. "You think you know Sasuke?"

I bit my lip, "I know that he's an avenger. I know that he goes with you! And that he betrays the village to go with you to gain more power for his revenge, but he would never let evil into his heart! I don't care what you say or think! I know Sasuke…" I choked, "I know that he would never be truly evil…"

Orochomaru was silent. And then he smirked. "So it's true…" he said, "About there being a girl who knew things no one else knew… things of the future…" he looked me in the eye, "How nice would it be to have a girl by my side… But at least I _know_ that Sasuke comes to me."

"You monster!" I yelled. "That future is a future without _me._ I'm here now, and I _will_ make things change! You'll see!"

"So you are using that… but Sasuke is…" Kakashi said.

"He will eventually seek me out." Orochomaru said, turning around and walking away. "To seek the power." He disappeared. There was silence and neither Kakashi nor I spoke. I'm sure this is the part when Kakashi realized how stupid it was to try to pick a fight with Orochomaru.

Kakashi turned to look at me. "The future you see, you are not in it?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Where I come from…" I began, "I know what has happened, but I see it as an outsider, like someone reading a book. So now that I'm here, I'm _living_ that book, that story or whatever it is. And because now I'm one of the characters… the plot might twist or change. But I'm not sure. So far everything is happening the same."

He gave me a long and contemplating look, "Are you a spirit?" he asked finally.

I blinked in surprise, staring at him until I realized that he was telling the truth. "Maybe," I said, truthfully, "I really don't know."

"Regardless," he said, "I'll take Sasuke to the hospital. You should go back."

I nodded, standing up and letting Kakashi pick up Sasuke. "Kakashi-sensei," I said. "Stay with Sasuke, don't come back. Kabuto, that Genin that I told you was a spy, he's going to attack him."

He nodded and left.

I walked through that room and through the door.

"It's over… it seems." Hayate said.

I walked as quickly as I could past the armless body and Shino. I nearly sprinted up the stairs and to where the rest of the Genin are.

"What is he… Neji?" Lee asked Neji.

Neji activated his Byuukagen. He blinked in surprise, "I can understand summoning bugs but… Bugs are living throughout his body…"

"What did you say?" Lee and Naruto chorused, disbelief on their faces.

"Yeek," I said, "That's nearly as scary as your eyes…"

"My _eyes_?" Neji asked, dryly, turning to me.

"Yes," I said, facing him. I saw the result of the Byuukagen (popping veins)."Aaack!" I said, "You're eyes!"

"What about them?" Neji asked. He looked pissed.

I shuddered, "They're freaky, like an _alien_."

Neji's eyebrows furrowed and he opened his mouth—

"He must be a member of the bug using clan of the leaf…" Guy-sensei said, referring the Shino.

"Yes," Neji said, turning to his sensei, "I have heard of them. A clan whose members, at the time of birth, give their body to insects to use as a nest."

"Gross, now _that's_ really like aliens." I said.

Neji ignored me. "The clan can freely control the insects and use them as their primary fighting technique. By feeding htem their chakra, they have established a contract with the bugs…"

"_Freaky_," I said.

"B—but Grace," Hinata said, "Shino isn't…"

"So the progeny of that clan…" Lee said. "Is him." Progeny? Doesn't that mean child? I guess that makes sense.

"The winner is Aburame Shino!" Hayate said.

"What? What? Was that Shino guy this strong? Damn it!!" Naruto yelled, frustrated. I love how he talks… just how he _speaks_ makes him sound retarded. Man, he's hilarious! Sigh… I'm totally exhausted now.

"Always thought he was creepy but…" Sakura said.

"I totally agree." I said, "Although I always _knew_ he was creepy."

Shino walked up the stairs and up to his team.

"Oh… Shi.. Shino," Hinata said, "Congratulations."

"Hey, great job." Kiba said.

"Just make sure you do as well," Shino said, turning away from them.

Kiba's face contorted with anger, "Ugh…" he thought, glaring at Shino.

"Look!" Naruto said, "The score board!"

_Tsurugi Misumi vs. Kankuro _

"Oh joy," I said, "The doll master appears."

"Doll master?" Naruto asked.

"Puppets," I explained. This will be boring… I turned to look at the person next to me, which happened to be Sakura and Tenten, "So anyway, before I went off with Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke, I was about to saying something."

"What was it?" Tenten asked.

"I just realized what my feelings… are." I said, slightly embarrassed.

"What feelings?" Naruto asked.

"For Sasuke…" I mumbled.

Sakura and Tenten's eyes glinted. "And what might _those_ _be_?" Sakura asked.

"What's with the scary look?" I asked, backing up.

"Just curious," Tenten asked, taking a step forward. What were they? Predators? Why do they look like they'll die if I don't answer?

"Well, like I was about to say, my feelings for Sasuke… are… that he's… well… he's…"

"Yes?" Tenten said, "Just hurry up already!"

"That I feel…"

"_Yes_?"

"I feel like an older sister to Sasuke!" I said, punching my hand, "Isn't that awesome?"

Their heads and shoulders sagged.

"Poor Sasuke…" Naruto muttered dramatically.

"Why?" I asked, "You don't think I'd be a good older sister?" I cracked my knuckles.

"No," Sakura said, "We were just hoping for something… a bit more…"

"_My feelings for Sasuke are that he's the most beautiful man in the world—my heart would be empty without him and he completes me, body and soul! I want to spend the rest of my life with him!"_

Sakura and Tenten sighed dreamily.

I stared at them. I have _no_ idea what they were envisioning but something tells me I don't _want_ to know. "So," I said, "You're still up for a girl's night at my place sometime after the preliminaries?" I asked.

"Sure," they said.

"Girl's night?" Naruto said, grinning, "When is this, by the way?" he nudged me in the ribs.

"Naruto," I said, "You do realize that if you're so stupid as to spy on us there will be a ton of kunoichi that will be ready to kill you."

Naruto gulped.

"But really," Tenten said, "That sound really fun!"

"Yeah," Sakura said.

"Let's invite…" I said, glancing around. "Hinata and Ino too."

"Why _them_?" Sakura asked, "I mean, Hinata is nice, so let's invite her, but why _Ino_?"

I shrugged. "And let's invite Tamari if she wants to come." I said.

"Who's Tamari?"

I pointed her out.

"She's a Sand ninja, right?" Sakura asked, "Oh, she's that girl we saw at the very beginning…"

"Yup," I said.

"The winner of the match is Kankuro!" Hayate shouted.

"Damn," I said, "That was fast."

"Yeah," Kiba said, right next to me, "It wasn't a very impressive fight. I mean, cool tricks, but other than that, nothing much to it."

I looked at him and then at Akamaru. He's sooo cute! I really want to just cuddle. At this point in time I'd be playing with Bingly but we had to lock him in a crate because he kept attacking Ryuichi after the 'shower incident' and we had to restrain him… the poor dog. It was all Ryuichi and the Hokage's fault. But Akamaru is _almost_ as cute as Bingly… "Aww…" I said.

"What?" Kiba gave me a strange look.

"Nothing," I said, "Just, Akamaru such a cute little dog."

"Cute?" Kiba asked.

"Well," I said, "Right now he is. But in two years he grows so big and ferocious that be because a top dog, don't you! Yes you do!" I cooed at Akamaru.

"How do you know that?" Kiba asked.

I frowned. "Wouldn't you like to know, doggy boy." I said.

"Doggy—"

"Don't worry," I said, "I'm practically doggy girl, and I love dogs."

"Too much," Naruto said, "Sometimes you'd actually prefer to hang out with Bingly more than me… to think that I'm bested by a _dog…_"

"Trust me Naruto," I said, "It's not hard for you to be bested by a dog."

"Well—HEY!" Naruto shouted.

"But she's right you know," Sakura said, giggling.

"Sakura," Kakashi said, "Now is not the time to be laughing."

Sakura looked at him curiously. He pointed to the score board.

_Sakura Haruno vs. Ino Yamanaka._

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ok! Again I apologize for the 'weirdness' of the plot in this chapter but these fights don't really have a plot to them anyway… sighs. Anyway, I'd like to ask your opinion. At the girls night out (which will be amusing to write) do you have any suggestions? I'm thinking about having them have a bet and the looser has to do something crazy and the winners get to choose what it is and I was _thinking_ that maybe Grace could be the looser… So any suggestions about what said 'crazy' think she might have to do? I might not even do the bet but if I do… evil grin.

Thanks for reading! Oh, and if the reviews go up to 100 (it's almost there, it's at 95) Maybe i'll make a bonus chapter!

fUnKyToEs


	20. The Chuunin Exams: Part IX

_**TITLE:**_ Truthspeaker

_**AUTHOR:**_ fUnKyToEs

_**CHAPTER:**_ The Chuunin Exams: Part IX

_**WORDS:**_4, 649 words

_**DISCLAIMER:**_ I don't own it.

_**REVIEWS: **_

**Valinor's Twilight:** Obviously Grace is going to be the looser :P because otherwise it wouldn't as fun to write! Oh, and it will most certainly be something to do with Sasuke! Regardless, thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Pandastacia:** Yeah, I've heard about the Elders thing, and yes, that will play into it (later) and yes, Grace _will_ have to do something mortifying that has to do with Sasuke… and _yes_ it will play with Sasuke's mind… hehe… anyway, thanks for the review!

**AnGeLGIrL156:** Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like it, hope you like this chapter too!

**Midnightrose46559**: I love cookies… Anyway, I'm glad you like this story! Thanks for the review!

**White Alchemist Taya:** Yeah, the fight between Ino and Sakura is both the same and dramatically different—and it's all Grace's fault… Thanks for reviewing!

**Kibafangirl11: **Thanks for the spell check—I don't know why I always spell it _Tamari_ it's just habit it guess—I'll be more careful… Yeah, I can't wait till I write about that girl's night out, it'll be so much fun (evil laugh)… I think you'll like it.

**XXBlackfireXX:**Glad you liked the chapter!

**Uzura-chan:** YOU'RE ALIVE!! (weeps with joy) I thought you died or something! I was devastated! I'm sorry you were sick, that sucks during the summer. That's a really good idea about having Grace have to spend a day with Neji (might just do that) also, I think I'll have them play truth or dare in which Grace always gets picked… hehe… evil chuckle of doom… ok, I'd love to read your story (it might take me a while since I sort of have to get a background on Bleach (I've never read or watched it before)) but I'm onto that so I'll be reading it any day now… Thank you for reviewing and I hope you get better!

_**DE BLAH: OF DE ROYAL BLAH!**_

Ok, first of all I'd like to apologize for the lateness of the chapter—but I've been CRAZY BUSY and it's hard balancing stuff with writing fanfiction… especially with my mom breathing down my neck because of summer reading. Anyway, I'll be back on schedule starting… NOW (boom). I'd just like to say that I'm so happy that THE REVIEWS HAVE REACHED 100! I never thought that they would reach that far and it's all because of you guys! I luv you!! Anyway, I know that I promised a bonus chapter but I'm holding off on all my good fluffy Sasuke/Grace ideas until the fateful night of the girl's night out… so you guys will have to wait (but it will be worth the wait, I promise). Also, that said night is not in this chapter, and might not even be in the next chapter (as I am dedicating an _entire_ chapter to that fluffy chapter.) However, to make up for that, I've decided (at the end of the chapter) to put Sasuke through a mortifying situation (Grace too) and I hope that it's funny enough for you. Well… it's not really funny, it's just… awkward…

Enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Oh!" Ino said in surprise.

"I have to fight Ino?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"Yup," I said, "What a surprise."

"Did you know that already?" Sakura asked me.

"Yup."

"How?"

I pinched my lips, "Well, I was a proctor for the first two exams… I hope I'm not a—no, that's impossible." I said, relieved. For a moment, I forgot that I wasn't a proctor for this exam. I'm still going to get back at the Hokage for this. I can see why—but why did I HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT—

"Grace?" Sakura asked, "You're making angry faces at the railing."

I scrunched up my lips again, "I was not, you're seeing things, Sakura." I pushed her in the direction of the stairs, "Now go on, oh!" I said, whispering in her ear, "Beware of her mind jutsu, don't stay still, and let the fight go as it goes, but when she pretends she injured and tries to do her jutsu, attack her and don't let her hair touch you, because she's just faking it. Ok?"

She nodded, confused and then hurried down the stairs. I just hope everything goes as planned. The problem is that Sakura never got caught by the Sound ninja before, and therefore didn't end up cutting her hair… this could complicate things.

Ino and Sakura stood in front of each other.

"Well, looks like this is it!" Ino said, "Looks like we get to fight each other—isn't it ironic?"

"What?" Sakura asked, "That we're rivals?"

"Yeah—" Ino smirked, "Looks like this will be a fight for love—the winner gets Sasuke!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "When will you grow up, Ino? We're kunoichi now, we can't base everything on childhood crushes! Besides," she said, glancing upwards towards the upper level.

It brought tears to my eyes. I was so proud! "Sakura's finally moving on!" I said to Naruto, "I'm so proud of her!"

"Yeah," Naruto said, "She has been less Sasuke obsessed than normal," he looked at me, "She and you are really good friends now, right?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Well," Kakashi said, "Friends step back for each for each other."

"What's that supposed mean?" I asked.

"If you liked a boy and your friend also liked him, what would you do?" Kakashi asked.

"Well," I said, "I'd let my friend have him—OH!" I said.

Naruto grinned, "Finally!" he said.

"She has a friend who likes Sasuke!" I said, punching my fist, "I wonder who… that's just about every girl in this room… That doesn't really help…"

Naruto slapped his forehead. "Whatever," he said.

"Well, are you two ready?" Hayate said.

"Yes." Ino said.

"Yes." Sakura said.

The walked away from each other, to separate sides of the arena. "Good thing you decided to let go of Sasuke," Ino said, "Because now it'll be easier for me to get him—although I'd have to say, I'm already almost there."

"Somehow," Sakura said, "I have a feeling that you won't be able to get very far."

"Start!" Hayate shouted.

"Take that back!" Ino shouted, spinning around and throwing three throwing stars. Sakura quickly blocked them by a counter attack. She ran towards Ino, aiming a punch. Ino dodged and then swung up her leg. Sakura caught it and then swung Ino away in a spiral. Ino landed on her arms and cart wheeled into a standing position. She ran towards Ino. "They're only using Taijutsu," I said.

"That's it?" Neji asked, "That's as good as kunoichi can get at hand to hand combat?"

"Neji!" Tenten shouted, "They're just using kid punches, it's not because they're girls?"

"Hey!" I shouted at him, "Don't talk like that…" I tried to think of the future when Neji might be fighting against a girl… "Girls could kick your ass!"

"You're a good example," he counterattacked, "You couldn't even pick up a kunai without dropping it."

I narrowed my eyes. "You…" I seethed. "You look like a girl!" I shouted.

His head snapped towards me. Well, applaud me. I've successfully managed to severely piss Neji off. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go cower in the girl's room. "What was that?" He snapped.

"Hahaha!" I said, "Um, you know…" I dashed behind Kakashi and turned my attention towards the fight.

Ino and Sakura were fighting with their kunai. "They have almost exact same skills and strengths!" I said. I mean, I knew that before, but it's strange watching it in real life. My eyes widened in shock as Sakura was grabbed by the air of Ino. Ino smirked, "Now you can go anywhere." She said. She lifted her leg to kick Sakura, but Sakura, catching my eye, grabbed her own kunai and sliced it through her air. I cringed. That must have hurt. Kunai aren't _that_ sharp, and there would have been a pull as it went through her hair. Ino's eyes widened as well as Sakura dashed away. Sakura faced her then.

"Why did you do that?" Ino said.

"I'm a kunoichi," Sakura said, "I have no need for things like pretty hair."

I smiled. Two things happened. One: Sakura cut her hair which meant that things just might turn out the way that things are… I'm confused. Regardless, this is good. Also, Sakura is growing up! I'm so proud of her... I grinned, "Now we'll look alike," I told Naruto, "Except that now I have purple hair…"

"Yeah," Naruto said, "What kind of hair did you have before?"

I frowned, "You really don't remember? I had—"

"Whatever!" Ino yelled, and she grabbed her own ponytail and sliced it off, "I don't care what you think!" she screeched, throwing it at Sakura. Sakura noticed this and jumped out of the way so that they weren't touching her. She realized, I think, what it was supposed to do, because she was _just_ out of reach. From Ino's perspective, it probably look like Sakura was in the hair. It's gross, really. Ino crouched, performing the seal.

_Remember,_ I thought, _it's fake._

"What's she doing?" Shikamaru shouted, "She can only do that when the person is standing still!"

I smirked as Ino shrieked in surprise as Sakura jumped out of the way throwing a kunai at Ino. Ino jumped out of the way only to be hit from behind by a shadow clone. Sakura ran around in a wide circle, creating two more shadow clones and as they reached Ino they merged into one, tripling the power of the punch as she hit Ino's chin. Ino flew into the air and landed on the ground. She attempted to push herself up but just fell back down, unconscious.

"Stop!" Hayate said, walking over to Ino and inspecting her. "Because Ino Yamanaka is unconscious, the winner of the match is Sakura Haruno!"

"YEAH!" Naruto yelled at the top of his voice "YEAH SAKURA! SAKURA!"

Sakura smiled, and then looked at me. I winked at her and gave her the thumbs up. She walked up to us. "That was amazing!" Naruto said as the medic ninja took Ino away.

Sakura looked guilty, "But Grace—Grace told me what to do, that wasn't me, that was Grace telling… me…"

"No," I said, "I didn't tell you _what_ to do, I just told you that it was fake. You did everything else. Sure, I gave you a hint, but it's harder when you know that's going to happen because you didn't know when it was going to happen or how, so the fact that you managed to work around it to come out the winner, that's a real victory. You really have brains, Sakura." I said.

Kakashi 'smiled' at Sakura, "Good work, Sakura."

Sakura smiled.

"Now who's going to fight?" She asked, looking at the board.

"Naruto, I think." I said.

"REALLY?"

The board flashed and then two names went on the board.

_TEMARI VS. TENTEN._

"WHAT?!" Naruto yelled, disappointed.

"Whoops," I said, shrugging apologetically while grinning. "Tenten," I said, walking up to her, "Beware her fan."

Tenten gave me a strange look and grinned, "I'll be fine."

I sighed.

"The fifth match," Hayate said, "Tenten vs. Temari of the Sand."

"Go TENTEN!" I shouted along with Sakura.

"TENTEN! TENTEN! TENTEN! TENTEN! TENTEN!" Lee shouted.

I hit him over the head.

Five minutes later…

My mouth dropped open. "I knew that Temari was good… I didn't realize that she was _that_ good! Lee go get Tenten!" I shouted. Lee nodded and jumped over the ledge to grab Tenten. She was then immediately taken by the medical ninja. "Don't worry," Kakashi said, "She'll be fine. Just some scratches."

I nodded. "I'm not worried about her." I said.

"Who's next?" Sakura asked me.

"Yeah? WHO? WHO?" Naruto shouted in my ear.

"How the hell am I supposed to know--?" I shouted. "Wait, Kakashi?" I asked, turning to him in surprise. "What—what?"

"It's secure."

"That's—I thought I told you not to…" I narrowed my eyes.

"It's me, don't worry." Kakashi said. "What you said is true. Kabuto came, but he's gone now. Sasuke is under strict surveillance."

"That was rather quick." I muttered. "Well, as long as you say so." I said. I can't believe I didn't notice that he had arrived not ten minutes after I told him to stay with Sasuke. I guess Kabuto really did… go try to attack that quickly.

Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry, he's safe."

I gave him a smile. "Yeah, I know."

"THIS TIME IT'S MY TURN!" Naruto shouted, closing his eyes, wishing. "MY TURN! MY TURN! MY TURN!"

"Naruto has two volumes," I told Sakura, "Loud and louder."

She giggled.

_KIN TSUCHI VS. NARUTO UZUMAKI._

"YEAH!" Naruto screamed.

"WHAT?" I shouted. My eyes were popping out of my head.

"Looks like random things… are still random." Kakashi said. I bet he's smirking behind that mask.

"I just… I didn't expect that." I said. "Well, at least now Kiba has a chance!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiba snapped, "I wouldn't have had a chance before?"

"Well…" I said, and then I dashed behind Kakashi. "I said nothing doggy boy!" I shouted from the protection of the taller man. Naruto jumped over the railing and down below. "HAHAHA!" he shouted, "IT'S MY TURN! IT'S MY TURN!"

"Like I said, two volumes." I sighed. "I wonder how this fight will turn out."

"Right," Hayate said, glancing at the two contestants. "You ready."

"Yeah." Naruto said.

"This will be easy." Kin said.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted pointing at her, "SHUT THE HELL UP I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!"

"Big words," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah," Sakura said, "Now he's going to have to hold to those words."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" I said in a dumb voice, imitating Naruto, "I _never_ go back on my word!"

She giggled. I grinned as well. "Seriously, though, I wonder what he'll do." I turned my attention to the people below.

"Now… begin!" Hayate shouted.

Naruto blinked as she threw the two needles with the bells towards him. He dodged them and looked behind him. "Hey!" he said, "I know this trick!" I slapped my forehead.

"That idiot is going to fall for it." I muttered.

"Good!" she snapped and then pulled.

Naruto stood there, probably trying to figure out _what_ exactly she was pulling till he heard bells. "Oh!" he said, looking behind, "Bells!"

I banged my head against the railing.

"String!" he said as realization dawned on me.

I was getting bruised.

"Too late!" Kin shouted as she ran towards him, with a kunai in her hand she slashed at him. She gasped (along with me) in surprise as the Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"You think I'm too dumb?" he shouted from behind her.

"Pretty much." I muttered, grinning.

He kicked her and she landed across the room.

"WHAT THE HELL?" he shouted as she too disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

I resisted the urge to laugh.

"You think _I'm _too dumb?" she shouted from behind him.

She aimed a punch at his head and he went flying.

"Poor Naruto," I said, "Just when we're, including him, are thinking he's got a brain…" I shook my head in mock despair.

"If I dodge your shadow clones then eventually you'll run out of them—and there's nothing you can do!" she said.

Naruto smirked. "What's behind you?" he asked before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"What?" Sakura said, "That's a shadow clone as well?"

"How the hell is he making them?" Kiba asked.

"_Kill it before it multiplies."_ I said in an alien voice.

They gave me strange looks.

I grinned as I saw Naruto doing that funny kick thing that Sasuke did. The lion lotus—lion kick some sort thing—whatever! "NA-RU-TO U-ZU-MA-" he said with a kick for each syllable, "KE!" she shouted at last , slamming a kick at her chest, which eventually landed her onto he ground.

I screamed and jumped in the air, "That was amazing!" I shouted.

"Incredible." Kakashi murmured, "He's improved so much during this exam."

I frowned. That's right. Yesterday Naruto wouldn't have been able to do this… I mean, he's a prankster, and this whole fight _was_ sort of a prank… but I wonder if fighting with Orochomaru somehow made him stronger? I'm not sure. I'm proud of him, that's all.

"The winner is Naruto Uzumaki." Hayate said.

Naruto yelled a victory shout and jumped in the air and then ran to the stair case and walked up.

"Great job, Naruto." Kiba said.

"Hn." Shino said. "That was impressive—for you."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted.

"Con-c-c-congratulations!" Hinata said. "I…" she blushed, "I have a… this is for you." She said, pushing a far of ointment towards him.

"Oh." Naruto said, looking at him. "No really, I don't need…"

I walked over to them. "Take it," I said, "Hinata is offering it to you, are you going to be rude and refuse it?"

"Oh," Hinata said, "you don't have to…"

"Thanks!" Naruto said, taking the ointment from her, "That's really nice of you, Hinata!"

She blushed profusely.

I patted her back and then followed Naruto.

"That was great!" Sakura said.

"You've really improved." Kakashi said.

"I know." Naruto said.

Sakura and I looked at him other, pissed. _Damn him. _Was probably along both of our thoughts.

"Well," I said, "This will makes things much more interesting to see who makes it to the top."

"Yeah." Sakura said. "You know, I sort of wish I didn't win that battle against Ino."

"Why?" I asked.

She looked down. "Many reasons, I guess. First of all, I'm sort of scared of participating in the final exam—these people are so strong! And also, I feel week because I didn't really _win_ the fight against Ino."

I patted her back, "Come on, Sakura, didn't you hear what I said earlier? You _did_ win the fight! Besides," I whispered in her ear, "You got to represent the Leaf kunoichi spirit! Although," I said, standing straight, "This sort of means that Ino is out of the picture for the girl's night out."

Sakura laughed, "Yeah, somehow I don't think she'd enjoy herself."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Although," Grace said, "This sort of means that Ino is out of the picture for the girl's night out."

Sakura laughed, "Yeah, somehow I don't think she'd enjoy herself." She smirked. Oh no, Ino would not enjoy herself, not with what she had in plan… Unfortunately, the product of the plan would end up making Grace unhappy, or at least miserable, because, let's face it… her smirk descended into an evil grin, when it comes to games that girls always play in the dead of night—caugh—dare—caugh—Grace will really be the victim…

"What's that look for?" Grace asked.

"No reason." Sakura said.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I gave Sakura a wary look. It's rare, I know, to see Sakura wearing an evil grin on the _outside_ and that's why I was so scared. Seriously, what has she planned, to take over the world? I had this nasty feeling I'd get the short hand of whatever it was.

I had no idea how _true_ that statement was.

"Well," I told Kakashi, "If you don't mind, I'll go see Sasuke now. All my friends have fought so far, and since I don't really need to be here I'd like to…"

Kakashi put a hand on my shouler, "I think that's a good idea." He said.

I grinned and waltzed off. Of course, about forty pairs of eyes bored into my the back of my head as I left in such a manner but really, since when do _I _care? "STOP LOOKING AT ME!" I yelled as I stomped the last four steps out of the room and out of the building. The door slammed behind me. "Oh, crap." I said as I stared at the forest, "I have no idea how to get out of here."

"That's why _I'm _here." Ryuichi said, appearing next to me.

I jumped. "Don't scare me like that, you creep!"

I could barely make out his eyes under his mask (His had large eye holes) and I have to admit he does have pretty ones. They're this dark blue, and his eyes are narrow and sort of seductive in a… seductive kind of way… I shook my head vigorously. "Fine, fine, fine." I said, "Take me a—WAY!" I shrieked the last part in surprised as he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He leapt up and quickly jumped from tree top to tree top. "STOP!" I yelled, "I REFUSE TO BE _MAN-HANDLED _LIKE THIS!" The stupid ANBU guard ignored my protests until we were safe on the other side of the fence that surrounded the forest of death. "What is wrong with you," I said as he put me down on the ground. I swayed and fell on my butt. "Thanks for _nothing._" I said, "Do you realize how much of a head ache I have right now because of that little 'speedy trip' you took?"

"Do you realize how much I—_don't care_?" he retorted. "I'll take you to the hospital now."

"I'll walk," I said, sniffing. I set out in a random direction.

"It's this way."

I gritted my teeth and turned around to follow him.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Um," I said to the nurse at the desk, "Which room is Sasuke Uchiha in?"

She looked at me, then at the ANBU guard. "He's under strict surveillance," she said, "And he's not to receive any visitors until he is stabilized."

I wanted to punch her face in. "Yes, that's a good idea!" I said, sarcastically, "Because what you don't know is I'm really a terrorist who wants to kill Sasuke and make him into a rug!" I shouted.

She blinked in surprise.

I sighed, "I'm sorry." I said, "I guess I've been really aggravated lately. A _lot_ of pressure's been put on me these past few days. "Can I please see him? I'm a close friend and have been entrusted with his safety by the Hokage."

She looked like she was about to disagree, but finally relented. "Fine." She said.

Kakashi appeared on my left. We all jumped (except Ryuichi). "What's with you ninja and popping up uninvited!" I said.

Kakashi shrugged. "I'm back," he told the nurse, who blushed and stuttered something along the words of 'welcome back'. Kakashi turned to Ryuichi, "You can go back," he said, "I'll take over watching Grace."

Ryuichi stiffened, then nodded and disappeared. "He sure is in a bad mood." I noted. "I wonder what's with him."

Kakashi took me by my elbow and directed me towards Sasuke's room. "This way," he said. I nodded. There were two ANBU guards standing by the door. Kakashi led us right up to them. "I'm taking over," he said, "Your services are no longer needed until later notice." They nodded and opened the door. There were two more ANBU guards inside. Wow, I thought, that's tight security. All four left. I looked at Sasuke, lying on the bed with one of those breathing masks on.

I walked up to the bed and sat in one of the chairs. "Will be all right?" I asked him.

Kakashi nodded, "He'll be fine. He'll be in a lot of pain, and it'll take a while for him to adjust to the power of the seal—but you know that, don't you?"

I nodded.

"Grace." He said, "I want to finish the conversation we had in that corridor."

I flinched. "I thought we had finished it." I said.

"No, we hadn't." he didn't sound pissed, or angry, just really, _really_ serious. "Now, I'm going to ask you some questions, and you are going to answer."

I sighed, "What do you want to know?" I asked.

"You have said that Sasuke leaves the village—with Orochomaru? Elaborate."

I sighed again. "Sasuke leaves the village to get stronger. He is an avenger and nothing is more important to him than getting revenge on his brother. Orochomaru can give him that power, that _ability_ to kill his brother, and so he goes with Orochoamru." I looked up at him, "Please, Kakashi-sensei, don't tell the others about any of this—not even that I know stuff. I want to tell them when I ready…" I grinned, "It's kind of silly, isn't it?" I asked him, "You know, that's I'm scared of _knowing_ stuff. You'd think it wouldn't be such a big deal."

"My lips are sealed." He said. "So even though Orochomaru only wants Sasuke for a vessel, Sasuke still goes? Does he even know?"

"Sasuke knows." I said. "None of you even make contact with Sasuke for about three years."

"Three years?"

"Starting about a month or so after the exams."

"That soon?" Kakashi gasped. "I thought it would be at least… half a year…"

"Yeah," I said, "You'd think… Anyway, Sasuke ends up killing Orochomaru… and going after Itachi."

"Does he kill Itachi."

I didn't say anything. "Maybe." I said, not wanting to give away too much, "And the sad thing is that I know that he won't be able to get any stronger here, I mean he can get stronger, but the only way that he can fight and defeat Itachi is if he goes off with Orochomaru and trains with him. That's why I'm so torn about everything. And also," but I closed my mouth, "Kakashi, there are some things that I cannot say. Some things need to be resolved by themselves." I didn't think it would be wise if I mentioned the _real_ reason for the Uchiha massacre…

"I understand." He said. "And what happens after he 'maybe' defeats Itachi?"

"Well," I said, "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

How do I put this right? "Well, you see… remember that I told you that this words, the people, the… it's all like a book that I can read?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's not finished."

"What?"

"It is _exactly_ like a book that's not finished yet, and because I'm here I have no access to that book. My knowledge, everything I know, ends about three years from now." I sighed, "I sort of wish that I knew. From where I was, Sasuke could either be winning or loosing. I'm sure many important things happen afterwards, but I left right after Sasuke… I brushed hair away from Sasuke's face. Whatever road you take, I thought, I'll be there.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke blinked, and only saw darkness. That's strange, seeing as his instincts told him it was day. He tried to move but found that he was tied up. He tried to calm down but he just couldn't understand why he was tied up. The last thing he remembered was Grace and Kakashi doing a seal on him. His face heated up at the memory of Grace's hand on him. The first thing he needs to do in get himself out of these ropes. There weren't that many, only two in fact. His eyebrows furrowed. In fact, these ropes were soft, and large. _In fact,_ he even began to doubt that these were ropes at all. _IN FACT,_ the more he thought about it the more it made sense. The ropes were _arms._ And the large soft rock he was 'tied' to was in fact a human body. This could only mean… his face turned a deep crimson color as he realized that this person had to be female from the particular body part his face was pressed up against.

He tried to push himself away from said female, but she muttered something in her sleep and then let him go. He breathed hard from the effort of getting away from her death grip in his weakened state. He turned his head to look at who was using him as a pillow and his eyes widened. _Grace?!_ _What's she doing here?_ He reached up and poked her forehead.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I was dimly aware of someone poking my head. "Shut up and let me sleep, Konohamaru." I said, still too asleep to understand. I was still half running towards a cliff.

"Grace, its Sasuke."

That brought me one more step to consciousness. "Oh." I said, my eyes fluttering as they fought to open. "Why are you in my bed?"

"Why are you in _my_ bed?" he asked.

My eyes flew open and I sat up, looking around to see that it was morning, and I was in Sasuke's hospital room in his bed. It was morning now. "Oh." I said, "Oh, now I remember! You were having a bad dream so I crawled into the bed to comfort you… but I sort of fell asleep!" I said, rubbing the back of my head and smiling apologetically, "Sorry." I frowned at the memory, _Kakashi had just left, although I'm sure he's just around the corner, and the sun was setting. My gaze shifted from the brilliant sky to the sleeping boy on the bed. He was sweating and twitching, he must be having a nightmare. I smiled sympathetically and reached over to take his hand. He whimpered something. _

_I lifted the blankets and crawled in, and drew Sasuke's quivering body to mine. His body relaxed. "It's ok," I said, "You're safe here."_

How was I supposed to know that I fell asleep? The poor boy probably thought I was trying to molest him… I shuddered. God, I hope no one else thought that…

He shrugged, his face hidden under his hair.

"Hope I didn't use you as a pillow." I said, "Apparently I have a habit of doing that."

He shrugged again.

"So it's morning." I said, trying to make small talk, "Oh!" I said, "I forgot, I'm supposed to find Naruto—see you later!" I called out, jumping out of the bed and grabbing my shoes, slipping them on and I dashed out the door. I see Kakashi and Naruto and Ebisu shouting about something (the shouting done by Naruto of course).

"Why do you have to train Sasuke!" Naruto shouted at Kakashi, "You like him best, don't you?"

"Now, now," Kakashi said, "It's nothing like that… oh, Grace," he said, "Did you sleep well?"

I flushed, "Why didn't you wake me up if you knew I fell asleep. That was mortifying."

He shrugged, "I don't know," he said, "You two looked pretty comfortable."

"You know," I said, "It sounds pretty sick when you say it that way."

"You slept with Sasuke?" Naruto shouted, his face contorted with… _joy? _Or is this some sick joke that only he finds funny?

My face turned a dark red, "Don't shout to the whole world!" I said. "Because," I whispered, "If you tell anyone, I won't get you the best teacher in the village!"

His face lit up," Who? Who?"

"The legendary toadally cool sage!" I said, "Now, all we have to do if find him! OFF TO THE BATHS!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Again I apologize for the shortness and the lateness of this chapter. I'm afraid that it took so long because of a dreadful invasion in my household. Something that comes once a year, sneaking up and then ATTACKS when you're least expecting it… it's called… _summer reading_. It's times like these that I wish I wasn't in honors English and therefore wouldn't have _so much to read…_ It really sucks. But now that I have all that under control, I'll be back on schedule! Although it might be rocky at first because of school starting, so I'll try to get a chapter a week in but it might not go as planned… I won't go as long as a month again, I promise.

Thanks for reading!

BYE!

- fUnKyToEs

Good luck at school!


	21. The Chuunin Exams: Part X

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Chuunin Exams: Part X

WORDS: 4, 502 words

DISCLAIMER: I don't own it

REVIEWERS:

_Uzura-chan:_ Ok, I know that the toad pun was bad (beeeeliiiiieeeeeve me) but you see I was writing it late at night and I have these pajama bottoms that have frogs on them and they have the word 'toadaly' on them… and it just somehow got in the story… well, how does it feel to reach 20 chapters? PRETTY COOL! You ate Oreos in celebration? That's so awesome! (I hate you cause I love Oreos but what can you do). Nah, I don't hate you but still. I'm seriously thinking of doing a 2-part story because I think that would even things out, it would be less confusing. Also, if I do that, I have the entire plot and ending of part 1 planned out already and the beginning and a lot of part 2 planned, so I won't have writers block… ever… cause I have the next ten years of my life planned out for me : writing fanfiction… sigh…

_XXBlackfireXX:_ Yeah, the ending was sort of rushed, but that's how it's supposed to be, I guess. This chapter isn't _too_ funny, I don't think. No fluff. Next chapter, I swear.

_Valinor's Twilight:_ Thank you! Yeah, I'm sure it was a shock for the poor boy…

_Pandastacia:_ I'm glad you like it! Yeah, they all probably thought she was crazy, as usual. There was a lot of fluff in that last part of the chapter—but alas! Non in this chapter! I swear in the next there will be fluff…

BLAH:

Ok! Back again! Sorry, things keep coming up (this time it was school, first week) and it was hard to stay on top of fanfiction, but now that schools started I should be fine. Oh, I'd like to say TO ALL OF THOSE IN SCHOOL GOOD LUCK!! Anyway, I have a few things to talk about. First: I have decided to make this story into 2 parts, so you can count on it that there will be a sequel (although not for a _long _time. At least… maybe fifteen to twenty more chapters, cause it's taking so long) although I'm not sure on a name for the sequel. The sequel will most likely start at the beginning of the time skip, since that seems like a perfect spot to jump in with a sequel. That's… all I had to say… Oh, yeah, people who like fluff and awkward Sasuke/Grace situations will probably be disappointed in this chapter, as Sasuke only shows up in about a paragraph's worth of stuff and even then, he's about five miles away from Grace, so they don't even contact. Sasuke probably won't show up for a couple chapters, seeing as he's off training with Kakashi, so don't expect to see him anytime soon (unless I happen to write the chapter of 'girl's night out' before the chuunin exams). That's another thing that I want to ask: should the girl's night out or 'the night that everyone makes Grace make an idiot out of herself' be _before_ or _after_ the Chuunin exams? I'm thinking before… People who like fluff can expect it in that chapter…

Well, hope you enjoy the chapter!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So, uh…" I said, "I think it's this way." We were at the baths. I still couldn't quite remember where exactly Jiraiya was… I just hope that he's not in the boy's baths. I'm pretty sure he's somewhere outside. 

I've never been in a bathhouse before, and sometime I'd actually like to come relax here, sometime when the Chuunin exams are over and everything's ok. I looked around, staring at the steaming water around me. It's so pretty, so ornamental. Those bridges and patios, it looks like a picture out of a history book! I looked at the scene. There's a pretty sakura tree… there's the bridge… there's the pervy sage… there the—what? "There he is!" I said.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, "That tall guy with the long hair who's peeking through that wall?"

"Yup." I said.

"Uh…what's he doing?"

"Peeking at girls."

"How do you know?"

"Uh…" I racked my brains, "Well, he's peeking at the wall—and the girl's baths are on the other side—why didn't you think of that?" I smacked his head.

"Ouch." He muttered, rubbing it. Then he stormed right up to the toad hermit. "HEY YOU! PERVERT! TRAIN ME!"

I smacked my head. You know? Sometimes I just _don't_ understand that child…

"Huh?" Jaraiya said, turning to glance at Naruto. Then he sighed in exasperation. "Toad summoning jutsu!" he smacked his hand on the ground, creating a seal.

"Great!" I said, panicking, "This is going to be reversed!"

As expected (not for Naruto, of course) a large toad appeared under Jaraiya, raising him up about five feet in the air. The toad slashed out its tongue, kicking Naruto into the air and sent him flying. He landed in a crumpled mess. I ran over in his direction. "Hey!" I said, "Naruto are you ok?"

He got up, barely fazed. Amazing, that kid has incredible stamina. That or is just too stupid to realize he got back slapped by a toad's tongue. He had a pissed expression on his face. He punched the air while yelling at Jaraiya, "Ok frog man what was that all about? What do you think you're doing attacking me like that?"

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'm glad you asked!" he said, dramatically.

My eyebrow twitched.

"I'm the hermit of Mount Myoboku the wise and power spirit—that's right it is I THE TOAD MOUNTAIN SAGE!!"

I grabbed my hair. _Don't say sarcastic comment—DON'T SAY SARCASTIC COMMENT!!_

"What?" Naruto said, "Toad sage?"

"Exactly." Jaraiya said.

"Well, I don't care about what or who you are—ya' gotta' train me!"

"Bad grammar…"I muttered.

"Sorry kid—but I can't." he said, "I have my research to do."

"RESEARCH?" Naruto yelled.

"Well, you see I'm a great novelist… I write books like this!" He produced a copy of Make Out Paradise. I felt my face heat up. No wonder he has to peek at girl's for research… I thought.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, "YOU WRITE THAT BOOK?"

"Hah!" Jaraiya laughed, "See, even little kids like you know my book! And it's not even out on paperback yet!"

"You wrote that pervy book?" Naruto yelled again, "Reasearch—YEAH RIGHT! Just an excuse for you to peak at girl's in the BATHHOUSE!"

There were screams and splashing of water as girls on the other side of the wall scrambled to get out of the baths.

"AHH!" Jaraiya yelled, turning around in panic, "AHH! Look what you've done! You've ruined my peeking—I mean my research!"

My hands were spazzing from twitches.

"Yeah right you pervy old man!" Naruto yelled.

"Why you little!" Jaraiya yelled, shaking his fist in Naruto's face. "There's nothing dirty about it! I happen to be a serious artist who's inspired by youth and beauty—that's all!"

"Yeah—like anyone would believe that!" Naruto yelled, "But who cares about that! What about my training!"

"I could care less kid!"

I decided that this would be the time to enter. I was sort of scared—I mean, meeting people that you've read their intimate thoughts—let alone read _about_ like characters of a book—meeting them is kind of… scary. "Hi," I said, stepping to the side of Naruto, "I'm Grace and I'm a friend of _Naruto Uzumaki_ here." I took a deep breath, "I was the one who suggested that Naruto train under you—you see Naruto is in the Chuunin exams and has a month to prepare for the final exam. I was wondering if you could teach him how to better channel his chakra."

"Impressive speech," Jaraiya said, "But no can do, sorry."

"Wait!" I said as he turned around. I sighed, "Naruto, sexy jutsu."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, "Oh yeah!"

"Hey you!" I called out, "Look at this!"

Jaraiya turned to glance at us.

"Sexy Jutsu!" Naruto yelled. In a cloud of smoke appeared a sexy skinny blonde female Naruto. Jaraiya's eyes popped out of his head. He appeared right next to Naruto, in a frenzy.

"Ooh so pretty—just my type—where did she come from—wow—so pretty!"

I sighed. "Look, now that we have your attention, will you please train Naruto?"

He sighed, "Fine… but…"

"No," I said, "Naruto _will not be in this form the entire time._"

"How did you know I was thinking that?"

"PERVERT!" Naruto yelled, turning back into himself.

I ignored the pervert's question. You see, another idea popped into my head, "Hey!" I said, "On that note, Jaraiya, will you train me as well?"

"What level of shinobi are you?" he asked.

"None," I said, "I'm not a ninja."

"Then no."

"Please?"

"No. Look, I agreed to train the kid, that doesn't mean I have to train you as well."

I stamped my foot. I _will_ get my way. "Look here," I said, "All I'm asking is that you train me in the basics of chakra control—I mean…" I changed my voice into a sexier one, "I'm already a girl… imagine how much _sexier_ I'll be if I can do the sexy jutsu…"

"WE HAVE A DEAL!" Jaraiya said.

Great… I get to be trained in chakra control… but I'll eventually have to do something dirty in exchange! Why do I always get myself in situations like this??

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The three of us sat in a row at the side of the river. It wasn't very comfortable. There's wasn't sand, just rocks. Ouch.

"Ok," he said, "We can pretend all that didn't happen… Now," he said, turning to Naruto (who was in between us) "So you want to learn how to walk on water." I had filled Jaraiya in on what exactly I wanted Naruto to learn. I also suggested that he teach Naruto the summoning jutsu.

"Ok!" Naruto said, getting up and walking over to the water's edge. "Here goes." He made a hand sign and focused his chakra. Then he stepped out on the water. He grunted as he was immediately thrown off balance. He stayed on the top of the water for about two seconds before crashing, yelling, into it.

Jaraiya stared in disbelief, and then burst into a fit of laughter.

Naruto surfaced and stormed out of the water. "You really do need help, don't you?" Jaraiya asked.

Naruto grumbled as he left the water. He stripped to his boxers, then shook his head.

"Hey," Jaraiya said, "Go on and build your chakra one more time."

"Can't I dry off?" Naruto complained.

"No."

"Brace yourself." I warned. Darn… and here I was so proud of being able to be quiet all this time. "Then, Jaraiya, will you teach me how to focus my chakra?"

He ignored me, staring intently at Naruto. "Wah… Amazing!" he said.

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"You know…" Jaraiya said, "You have quite the sexy little body ."

"Ah!" Naruto yelled, jumping, "Ah—ja—do you mind old man I'm trying to train!"

"Oh! Sorry about that!" Jaraiya said, smiling.

"Jerk," Naruto muttered and made the hand seal again. He began to focus his chakra. Up close I can see that his body hums, that I can actually hear the chakra building up and traveling through the chakra veins to the chakra points at his feet, where he would distribute them. His body also seemed to quiver slightly, like how heat waves look on a road. It looked like there were tiny waves of heat covering his body. But what I noticed the most was the black seal that formed on his stomach. That must be the seal to keep the nine tailed fox in…

Jaraiya also noticed it to. He crouched, moving closer to Naruto and placed a hand on Naruto's stomach. Naruto giggled. "Hey, that tickles—what are you doing?"

"Sorry," Jaraiya said.

Something was wrong. What wasn't happening? Oh yeah! Orochomaru didn't put that seal on Naruto—the one that caused Naruto to not be able to correctly funnel his chakra… then how come he couldn't do the technique? Then again, this is his first time doing it. But still… strange…

"Remember," Jaraiya said, "Unlike walking up a tree, the water is a _moving_ object. A tree doesn't move and therefore the chakra flow coming out of your feet must also be steady, but in order to walk on water your chakra flow must also be constantly changing to match the water—understand?"

Naruto had a look saying that he didn't understand, but he nodded. "Now," Jaraiya said, "Let's try that again."

Naruto nodded again and walked up to the water. He did the hand sign and focused the chakra to his feet. He stepped out and took a few steps. He yelped as he tripped, his arms flailing, and then regained his balance and stood evenly on the water.

I clapped.

"Good job," Jaraiya said, "Well, we'll call it a day for Naruto—"

"What?" Naruto complained stepping off the water and walking over to the pile of his clothes. "That's it? Not killer technique that Grace told me about?"

"What exactly did you tell this kid?" Jaraiya asked me.

I shrugged.

"Anyway, you're lady friend here wanted me to teach her how to control chakra, so I'm going to help her a little bit. I'm sure," he said, "That in no time she'll be at the same level as you—since you're not really that advanced after all."

"Hey!" Naruto said, sitting down. We were now in a little circle like thing.

"First," Jaraiya said, "I'd like to see what kind of chakra you have, and how much. Since you were not trained as a kid and this is your first time being trained as a ninja…?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Than we need to skip the basic beginning steps." He reached into a pocket and drew out a piece of paper. "Do you know what this is?"

Naruto looked at the paper confused.

"Oh!" I said, "That one of those chakra papers, it reacts differently to the five different types of chakra: Lightning, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind."

"Very good," Jaraiya said, impressed.

I beamed.

"Yeah—yeah—whatever," Naruto said, crossing his arms, "I don't understand all this about 'chakra paper' but—"

"But it doesn't concern you," Jaraiya, "Stay out of the conversation unless you're called upon."

Naruto grunted as a response.

"Anyway," Jaraiya said, shaking the note, "This will tell us if you have enough chakra to even bother learning chakra control, and it will also tell us how much chakra you have, and how strong it's potential is."

"How can that be?" I asked.

"It reacts to how strong a person's chakra is," he said, "The bigger the reaction, the more chakra you have."

"Hold on," I said, "Let me get this straight, if it breaks in half, then that's wind chakra, right?"

"Correct."

"And if it burns up, it's fire chakra, right?"

"Yup."

"And if it crackles, then that lightning chakra?"

"You got it."

"And if it… turns to dust that earth. And if it becomes wet then that water?"

"You're really good!" Jaraiya said, "Did you study a lot?"

"I just like to read." I said. I reached out for the note, but then drew it back. "Wait, what happens if someone has more than one kind of chakra? Like… if they had earth and water, or lightning and fire?"

"That very rare, especially in someone of your level," Jaraiya said, "And if you do happen to possess more than one kind of chakra in you, then it most likely won't show up at this rate. The more dominant one, the one you'd use right off the bat, will show up. If you train diligently, the less dominant one might surface."

"I see…" I said. I wondered which one I'd want… I reached out for the note. Jaraiya handed it to me, watching it intently.

I shrieked in surprise. As soon as my hand came in contact with the paper it burst into flames leaping about a foot into the air before winking out. The paper was completely destroyed.

"I…" I said, "I guess that's… fire chakra."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo (next day)oOoOoOo

Sakura sat on her bed, curled up in a sitting position, her chin tucked behind her knees. As much as she wanted to, she was still finding it hard… to forgive Grace. In what way? In the way that Sakura knew that it was Grace that Sasuke liked, even if he might not even know it.

Sure, she tried to sound like to Ino and everyone else like all she wanted was Grace and Sasuke to get together, but it still hurt. Especially since from the looks of it, Grace isn't aware, let alone would _want_ that.

She clenched her fist. "Come on, Sakura," she said sternly to herself, "What are you thinking?" _It would never have worked out with Sasuke, we're too different, but Sasuke and Grace… they're perfect for each other. _ She smiled; _I guess getting them together would be as much fun as actually being with Sasuke…_ her smile faltered slightly. "In a way." She said.

"Sakura!" her mother yelled from downstairs. "Are you coming down or are you just going to stay upstairs for the rest of your life?"

Sakura gritted her teeth, "I'm coming! I'm coming! Jeesh…" she muttered as she hopped off her bed.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sakura peered through the door. Dare she enter? She decided that she did dare. She grinned. She walked in and started to examine the flowers. She was in a flower shop, Yamanaka's flower shop. She just hoped that Ino wasn't here… She looked at the flowers again. She'll get one for Sasuke… one for Lee… and another one for Sasuke 'from Grace'. She smirked. That'll throw Sasuke for a loop!

"You know," an arrogant voice said from behind, "If you give someone a pot of flowers it's like saying they're never going to get better."

Sakura spun around to see Ino, standing at the counter. Her ribcage filled with dread. _Perfect,_ she thought, sighing. "Hey Ino, how do you even know I'm giving it to someone who's ill?"

"Oh come on," Ino said, "You really think I'll fall for that—I don't like Sasuke speech? You'll always be a pitiful little fangirl!"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched.

"So, you're going to see Sasuke? Maybe I'll just come with you." Ino said, taking off her apron and walking up to Sakura. Sakura bit her lip. She didn't want Ino to come, of course, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Ino glanced skeptically at all the flowers, and then brightened as she looked at a red rose, "I'll give Sasuke a red rose, because it's the flower of love!" she picked and walked over to the counter to wrap the end up.

"And _I'm_ going to get him a daffodil." Sakura said, "It waits all winter in the ground and then in the spring it shoots up into a beautiful flower… to signify how Sasuke will get better soon!" she picked two out of the bucket.

"What are you picking two for—show off!"

"No…" Sakura said, "This one… this one is for Lee…"

"Oh." Ino said, turning solo. "Yeah, I heard about that… really too bad…"

"Yeah…" Sakura said.

"Sakura," Ino said, "Did… you know, hear the news?"

Sakura blinked, "What news?"

"It's about Lee… His injuries were worse then we all thought… you see, his injuries were _so_ bad that… well, his days as a ninja… are over."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You mean…"

"Yeah."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hello?" Sakura said at the front desk.

"Yes?" One of the nurses at the desk asked her.

"Yes, we'd like to see Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Oh…" she looked through some files. "This way." She got up and led Sakura and Ino through the hall, "You know," she said, "You're not the only one to visit him. I mean there was another pretty girl—Is Sasuke popular with the ladies?"

"Well, he's pretty hot if that's what you're asking," Ino said.

"Oh," the nurse said, "I can only give you guys five minutes, he's in very critical condition still, he's not able to see visitors that long."

"He's awake now?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," the nurse said, turning a corner, "Surprisingly he woke up this morning, much, much, much earlier than we all expected him to. We think it has to do with his earlier visitor."

"Grace?" Sakura asked.

Ino's eyebrows twitched.

"Yes," the nurse said, "That's right, that's what her name was… she stayed the whole night. I think that's why he woke up." She smiled, "Now, she seems a lot older than him, about two or three years, but are they dating? She seemed pretty… close to him."

Sakura didn't know what she was referring to, but she was dying to know.

"No!" Ino said, speeding up her pace as if she were worried if she walked slower Grace would steal Sasuke from her, "No—she's not!"

"Oh," the nurse said, "Well…"

They reached the door. The nurse knocked and then opened it, "Sasuke, can I come in? I have some visitors for—oh no!" she said, dropping her clip board. "He's gone!" She dashed to the closet, "And his clothes are gone as well!"

_Oh no…_ Sakura thought, _Where could Sasuke have gone?_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kakashi grunted as he clenched onto the rock with one hand for his life. He couldn't believe how hard this simple training exercise was. Climbing up a rock wall with one hand shouldn't as difficult as it was proving. "I'm getting out of shape," he thought. His eyes widened as his hand started to slip. He focused on his chakra and released one of his gates for a second, and with a burst of energy pushed up on his hand, propelling him through the air. He caught another hold, hanging in place. Eventually he grasped the ledge.

"You're late." Said a dry voice.

Kakashi looked up to see a black figure silhouetted by the early morning sun. "So you finally decided to show up, Sasuke."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

My mind wandered breifly about Sasuke. No doubt right now everyone was worried because Sasuke snuck off to train with Kakashi… speaking of which, should I have warned them that would happen? At least Sakura? Too late now. I sighed as I scooted my butt, trying to get a more comfortable position on the rocks I was sitting on. I hope Sasuke is up to training after being in such a critical condition… I mean, seriously!

"SERIOUSLY!" Naruto yelled, "Couldn't you make this any easier!?" He was yelling at a tadpole. Yes, Naruto began his summoning jutsu training, and was still getting pissed off because he was _still_ only summoning tadpoles. I smirked. Not that I had progressed any further. In fact, I hadn't done _any_ work on my chakra control.

Why?

"You!" I yelled, pointing at the back of the pervert sage, "You figured out that I have fire chakra! Now train me!"

"Jeez," Jaraiya said, rubbing his ear, "You're just about as loud as the runt."

"Don't insult me," I snapped.

"Fine, fine," he said, ignoring Naruto's complaints and shouts of anger directed towards him to sit in front of me. "Now, we can begin our lesson. You know about physical and spiritual energy, right? Chakra?"

"Yes, yes," I said, "I understand that."

"Do you really?"

I frowned. "Probably not. Just explain what you realized with the chakra paper."

"Well, you have fire chakra that much you could figure out but what you probably didn't realize was that you," he pointed at me, "Have an unbelievable amount of chakra."

"Really?" I asked, excited, "You mean that?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jaraiya stared at the young girl. Sure, she was smart, but she was also naïve. He frowned; didn't this girl realize her potential? The Hokage must have realized it, that's probably one of the reasons he's keeping her so close to him. The chakra energy the girl has is… incredible. Of course, it'll take years for her to master it, but if she's as good as a student as he was beginning to think she was, she might just master it in a year or two. It would take a lot of work. She could learn the basics, and master those too, but the real stuff? The stuff she's capable of? He shook his head, he didn't even want to know.

"What are you doing?" she asked, "You lied?"

"Huh? No, no," he said, "No, I was just thinking, I was just thinking how it might… I know a way to make it easier and faster for you to learn how to focus and use your chakra!"

"Really?" she asked eager.

"Yeah, I want to put a seal on you."

"A seal?"

"Yeah, a… blocking seal, you could say. You see, you have a large amount of chakra in you, and if you try to learn with it you won't really be able to, so if I put the seal on you, then it'll be easier."

She looked doubtful, "I don't understand," she said, "I thought it was a good thing to have a lot of chakra."

"It is," he said. Just not the chakra you have, he thought. If he could only put a seal on her, to prevent her from using at least eighty percent of her chakra… then she should be fine… and everyone else around her… to think… _that_ would appear again… in this child… at a time like this. Is it fate? Regardless, it is needed… for her own safety, she shouldn't have all that power accessible. When she's ready and powerful enough to… control it, then I'll release the seal.

"Come on," he said, "We'll do the seal right now—take off your shirt."

… silence… Even Naruto was quiet.

"WHAT?!" I yelled, covering my chest with my arms, "What are you talking about?"

"I have to do the torso on your stomach and a lot of other places." Jaraiya said, "I'm not trying to peek at you."

Naruto appeared at his side, "What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm doing a seal on Grace," Jaraiya said, "To help her with her chakra control."

"Ooh!" Naruto said, "I want one too!"

Jaraiya sighed, "You already…" he stopped. Grace blinked with surprise at the words 'already'. "Sort of have a similar seal." He said.

"Oh." Naruto said, disappointed. "Well, don't expect much, Grace." He said, turning back to keep practicing his jutsu.

She sighed, "Well I guess it can't be helped." She said. She lifted the shirt off of her, setting in on the ground and scooting closer to Jaraiya. Jaraiya didn't do anything.

She covered her chest again, blushing, "What are you doing, you pervert!"

"Sorry, sorry," Jaraiya said, "I just… those clothes really don't suit you, I didn't realize you had such nice—" she glared, "Hands." He said, "Nice hands."

She glowered at him. "Anyway, time to make a seal. You'll need to keep your arms at your side." She reluctantly lowered her arms.

Naruto, a few meters away, smirked. If _only_ Sasuke could be here… he snickered. Naruto would bet his _life_ that Sasuke would get a nose bleed. Ironically seeing Grace with nothing on her top except a bra didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. _I guess that's what you get for practically becoming someone's little brother._ However, the idea of any other guy seeing her immediately angered the little ninja. _Jeez,_ Naruto thought_, what am I going to do when guys want to ask her out? I'll have to beat some sense and fear into guys before I'll let them go out with Grace._

Grace had a slight blush on her face as Jaraiya bit his thumb. He dabbed each of his fingers so that the blood covered them all, and then built up blue chakra. "Are you ready?" he asked. She nodded, gulping. "Ok, here goes." He closed his eyes and concentrated and then stabbed her lower abdomen with his 

fingers. She let out an ear piercing scream as his chakra burned into her flesh and manifested itself in her chakra, creating a barrier between her and ninety percent of her chakra. He was creating a jail, you could almost say, containing her chakra. His fingers, with the chakra, traveled up her torso to her collar bone, where he then, muttering an apology, had to momentarily remove her bra to cross over her left breast. He then lifted his hand off of her and used his two fingers, on over each eyebrow. There, he took his hand away from her. He blocked all eight of her chakra gates. Now only very, very small amount can be used, less than ten percent of her power. Her eyes were open but he knew that it was just in shock. She was actually unconscious. She collapsed onto her back, her eyes closing.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked, appearing at Grace's side, "What the hell did you do?"

"I blocked her chakra."Jaraiya said. "Now kid, what I'm saying right now, no one, especially not Grace, can know about. You see the chakra that Grace possesses is extremely harmful to her if not controlled, and because she's not nearly at the level of being able to control said chakra, I need to seal it away. She'll have enough for the basics."

"How long will it take?" Naruto asked, "Till she can use the rest of her chakra?"

"I'm guessing… four to five years, at best."

"_Four to five years?_" Naruto asked, gasping.

"As I said, it's… dangerous. Regardless," Jaraiya said, picking Grace up and plopping her shirt over her chest, "We should get her back. She'll be out cold for a day and be exhausted, no, more than exhausted. _Bed ridden_ for a few days. She'll need her rest. I'd actually suggest she stay in the hospital. Let's go."

Jaraiya set off in the direction of the village.

Naruto lingered for a moment. Incredible power… dangerous… And what did Jaraiya mean by 'a seal similar to yours'? He shook, what… what _is_ Grace?

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Thanks for reading! If you are people who like to review, here are my questions (restated from above)

1 What is your opinion on a 2-part story

2 What is your opinion on that story to be focused a little more romance between two characters that due to a dramatic age difference can't actually have a romance?

3. Should the 'girl's night out' be before or after the Chuunin exams?

4. Any suggestions about said night? Tricks that they play on each other (caugh—grace—caugh)

Thanks! I just like your input. Ho_pefully you'll still be surprised._

fUnKyToEs


	22. A New Awareness

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: A New Awareness

WORDS: 3, 464 (Very short… ')

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto the show or the character.

REVIEWS:

_Valinor's Twilight: _ Yeah, I'm thinking of the 'romance' to be in the second part only because it makes m ore sense, age wise and plot wise. Thanks for the review!

_Pandastacia: _I'm playing with something that would make Grace the same age… and I'm pretty pleased with it. I can't wait till the girl's night out but so many things just keep popping up that I have to write… sigh… thanks for the review!

_2lazy2comeupwith1: _Yeah, my morals are kicking in and I knew from the beginning that her being sixteen would end up being a problem but I guess I didn't think of it, so that's why I think that the romance won't _really_ start till the time skip. Thanks for the review!

_XXBlackfireXX_: You know, you said that you didn't have any suggestions for pranks but you totally gave me one during your review!!

_The-Trapped-Phoenix: _I'm glad you liked it! I'm sorry it took so long for me to update it… ' sorry…

_Kibafangirl: _thanks for your review. I'm thinking of having the dares have something to do with Sakura and Tenten are evil girls who decide to make Grace do things to 'make Sasuke jealous'… I'll have fun with this… ;D

_Uzura-chan: _I agree, this first part needs to focus on Grace and then I can focus on the romance when there's more room to fit it in. You're review is as enthusiastic as usual! Thanks!

_White Alchemist Taya: _You'll just have to read to find out. Thanks for the review!

_McGinnis INC._: Thanks! I'm glad you like the story! I know, my spelling is awful -.-'. I try very hard not to make Grace a mary sue as that's almost the entire reason I started this fanfiction… almost… Anyway, I'm glad you liked it and I'll work harder in the future to update on schedule!

THE APOLOGY:

I'm terribly sorry for my bad sense of time… With school it's just so hard… The past two weeks I had this huge essay to work on (I hate honors level English… gah) and with my other homework and everything going on I almost had no time to even _read_ fanfiction, let alone write any. Regardless, I'll work harder in the future now that things are calming down… the other reason was that I didn't really know what to do with this chapter, so although it's very short it focuses on something new that's happening to Grace, which is the purpose of the chapter, and as you will see it's very important for future chapters. Hope you enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I blinked. I saw light. A ceiling. One of those Florissant lights. The kind you see in hospitals and public buildings. The kind that are cheap, like the engineers had a low budget. The kind that gave you headaches. I decided to stop looking at the lights and look where the breeze was coming from. It was nice, but it confused me. Why was there a breeze? I don't see a window… ah, there it is. It's strange, everything is abstract. Colors are tighter, contrasted, and yet, everything is blurred, as if there isn't a definition of what reality is and what allusion is. I felt like I was drifting in and out of sleep, as if I wasn't really here, and yet I knew I was because I felt weighted. I also felt light. I sat up, and the weighted feeling disappeared. All that was left was a pulling sensation. I threw the covers off and hopped off the bed. I blinked as I stared at my feet. I was standing, and yet, the floor felt strange. It didn't feel like I _hit_ the floor, but more like I was floating just above the surface. In my disillusioned state this didn't seem like that much of a deal so I moved on. I took some more steps, ignoring the floating sensation till I reached the window. Staring out of it was like staring into a dream. Everything seemed so much lighter, everything seemed _white. _Soft. Wavy. Smooth. Surreal. Soundless. Everything was quiet. I looked back at the bed and blinked again.

There is was, lying in the bed. I came to the soft and funny realization that I _must be dreaming._ It didn't shock me. I was like 'oh my god I'm having an out of body experience'. It was like… oh, that must be it. I'm dreaming. I rested a hand on the window sill and was again tickled by the idea that I _wasn't actually touching it._ Instead my hand was floating just above the surface. I smiled. This was fun. It was fun not worrying. Not having anything to think about. Thoughtless. I never thought it would be so nice. Not a worry. I couldn't even remember my name. What was my name? Where was I? It didn't matter. The me in the bed opened my eyes and sat up, rubbing them and yawning.

I leaned out of the open window and looked down. I was on the second story. Smiling again, I leaned all the way out till my middle rested on the sill and half of me was inside and the rest hanging out. With one gentle push my entire body slid out the window and downwards. This was fun. The pulling got a little stronger but pushed it to the back of my head. My feet softly touched the ground. This also wasn't strange. It seemed perfectly normal to float down from a second story and just land perfectly without any impact on the ground. Smiling, I set off. I saw a swing and my attention were immediately diverted. I redirected my course and headed straight for the swing. _My_ swing. I sat down and kicked off the ground. The swing shot backwards about as far as you can go on a swing and then swung forwards. It tickled me how I could see the swing sitting there. It was like I was sitting on the _thought_ of the swing. I hopped off, sailing through the air and then landed on my feet again. I walked, slowly, taking in my surroundings, till I came to stop in front of the hospital. There I am, walking out, a little dazed. Who are those little boys? There's a blond one and a dark haired one. The dark haired one looked around nine. Konohamaru, I realized, that's his name. The blond one was laughing about something. Naruto.

Someone was missing. I realized that it must be me, since I don't remember my name. Naruto was still laughing about something and then he waved and ran off. Konohamaru walked with the me outside the dream until they got to a building (I followed them out of mild curiosity). Then he entered it. There was a slight murmur of yelling, which was strange since I wasn't able to hear anything before. Then the me outside the dream kept walking until she saw another dark haired boy. She waved to him and he stopped and let her catch up with him. At this point I realized that this boy must be her friend, since they seemed to know each other. I followed them more closely. I couldn't hear what they were saying but whatever the me outside the dream was saying it couldn't be very nice. I would have to talk to her about that. Then the me outside the dream apologized and said something funny. The dark haired boy smiled. The me outside the dream continued to say whatever it was that she was saying and the boy kept looking at her smiling.

Sasuke.

I blinked.

That was his name. He seemed perfectly familiar, as if I knew him all my life. I can't believe that I forgot who he was. He kept looking at the me outside the dream with that look in his eyes. And the me outside the dream didn't see it, because she was looking in the other direction. She didn't see it because she didn't know that it was ever there. She never looked. She never saw.

She never saw that look in his eyes.

But I did. Now, I see.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hey Grace, you ok?" A voice said. I grumbled and opened my eyes. There, the hospital lights.

"Again?" I asked myself. Nope. Everyhting was painfully real. "Damn," I muttered, groaning as I tried to push myself into a sitting position.

"Whoa, whoa!" Naruto said, gently pushing me back down, "Don't overdue it Grace, you're still in pretty bad shape."

"What did that pervert _do_ to me?" I asked.

"Ah," Naruto said, "Well, you know, sealing isn't that… easy… well, it can't be easy on the person being sealed or people would do it more often!"

"Where is the pervert?" I asked, lying down and scooting myself into the pillow, getting comfortable.

"He doesn't want to come here—says someone will recognize him," Naruto explained.

"Lazy ass," I muttered, "He just doesn't want to be near me when I woke up."

"That's probably it too," Naruto laughed.

Naruto laughed. I frowned, my eyes furrowing. Something about that seemed familiar. "You know," I said, "I have the strange feeling like I had a dream about you."

"A dream?" Naruto asked, "About me?"

My eyebrows furrowed deeper. "Maybe not," I said, "I just… could have sworn…" It was on the tip of my tongue. Oh well. "Never mind," I said, shaking my head, "How long was I out?"

"About a day or two." Naruto said.

"Yikes!" I said, "Really? That's not good! How many days till the final exam?"

"Um…" Naruto said, "About… uh…"

"Well, let's count. One day… two days… three days… about twenty seven more days?"

"That sounds about right." Naruto said. "Although I have a lot of training to do still. I'm going to be training to summon toads still… but that's ok, because when I master it—it'll be a killer technique!"

I grinned at him. "I've got to start to master chakra control," I said. "So I can catch up to you and Sasuke!"

Naruto frowned, his eyes turning dark.

"What is it?" I asked, worry filling me. I mean, it's rare for Naruto to have such a serious expression on his face.

"Nothing," Naruto asked. "It's nothing. Yeah, when you're better, you better come and join Pervy Sage and me!"

"When I'm better?" I looked down at myself, "Why can I just come now?"

"Well…"

"Oh, you're up!" a pretty nurse said, opening the door, and you have some visitors too—Naruto!" she said, "Who gave you permission to come in here?" she scolded. Tenten and Sakura followed her in.

"Hi!" Tenten said, "How are you feeling—boy, you look beat up. What did you do—run into a tree?"

Sakura giggled and even the nurse chuckled before scolding Naruto one last time and leaving. I glowered at Tenten, "Very funny," I said, "No, the Perverted Toad Sage decided to take advantage of me."

"Good thing Sasuke wasn't there!" Tenten laughed.

"Yeah," I said, "I guess it is the job of a brother to protect his older sister…"

"That's not what I meant," Tenten whispered to Sakura. She nodded.

There was something about the way that she said that, something she was implying that caught me off guard. I had déjà vu about something. Was it in my dream? Whatever it was, it was familiar and it was bugging me. "Anyway," I said, "I need to figure things out and I forgot to ask Naruto, who are against who in the final match?"

"Well," Sakura said, "First match is Neji against Naruto."

"The second match," Tenten said, "Is Shino against Kankuro." I nodded, so far, so good.

"Third match is Temari against Shikamaru."

"Fourth match is Sasuke against that Sand ninja, Gaara."

"And the fifth match is Kiba against me." Sakura said.

I blinked. "Kiba won?"

"Yeah," Sakura said, "And now I have to fight him…" she sighed, "I'm just glad I managed to get to the finals."

"Yeah, lucky," Tenten pouted, "Regardless of that, how did you get like this, Grace?"

"Um… training accident." I said.

"Grace," Sakura said, suddenly serious, "Do you know where Sasuke is?"

"Yeah, do you?" Naruto said.

"Training, with Kakashi." I said. "Don't worry, he's fine."

They breathed sighs of relief. "Oh," I said, "I wanted to discuss something with you two, about that party I wanted to have, when would be a good time for you?"

They looked at each other, "Ummm…" Sakura said, "Well, you see I'm pretty busy training…"

"Who are you training with?"

"Anko." Sakura said, smiling, "She offered to train me because I'm the only female representative for the Leaf village. But she's a pretty hard teacher."

"One can imagine." I muttered.

"Come on Sakura," Tenten said, "Can't you have one night off? Just to relax?"

Sakura smiled, "I guess I can."

"In two weeks," I said, "You girls come over." Then I paused, "Wait a second…" I was having major déjà vu for some reason. I'm not sure why but I suddenly had one of those 'I know I had a dream but I can't remember what was in it' things again. I wish I could just… remember. I feel like it's important… but… "Well, Naruto, we should probably get going…" I started removing the blankets and then Sakura jumped up.

"Grace!" she said, "What are you doing? You're in no condition to get up and move around!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked her, annoyed, "I'm the mary sue, getting hurt is about as unlikely as me dying."

"What?" they had equally confused faces.

Whoops. "Just a inside joke," I laughed, scratching my head. I sighed, "But really, I can't stay here, I have to oversee Naruto's training, not to mention train myself, not to mention that I have to… you know… keep an eye on Naruto." They couldn't possibly understand the stress on me. Naruto's training was of no priority, of course. The only thing I had to ensure was that Jiraiya stays as Naruto's teacher. My own training is really of no matter, although I'd have to say it's pretty important…

No, what really matters is Sasuke. I have to find him, hang out with him, _anything_ to get him… to stay.

"Grace are you ok?" Naruto asked, "You have a really weird expression on your face…"

"Sorry," I said, "I guess I'll stay here for a few more hours and then I go out."

Tenten and Sakura looked like they were going to disagree, but they realized that there was no argument to fight. "Well," Tenten said, "I've got to go, anyway, I'm helping train Neji—"

"Tenten!" Naruto shouted, "You're helping the enemy?!"

"I know you're Grace's friend too, Naruto," Tenten said, and here I smirked. Notice that she didn't say 'you're my friend' just 'you're Grace's friend'. "But you see," she continued, "Neji is also my friend and we're team mates, it's my obligation to help out." She waved to me, "See you later," and she and Sakura left.

"Can't believe that she's helping _Neji._" Naruto grumbled to himself, crossing his arms.

"Naruto," I said, "Shouldn't you be training?"

"Ah, oh yeah!" he said, jumping up, "Hey Grace, you don't mind if I go now, do ya'?"

"Naruto," I said, sighing an exasperated sigh, "If you even hinted that you might be slacking off your training you'd have more than Neji to worry about."

He gulped, nodding. "Well, get better! I'll be back in a bit!"

He left. I stared at the blanked. What to do… what to do… what… to… do…

"AH!" I yelled, throwing the pillow across the room, "I'm so bored I can't think of anything!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I grinned. I had approximately twenty minutes until the nurse found that I was missing from my hospital room. Nonetheless I couldn't help but feel a little guilty. I mean, I _am_ supposed to stay there and I _did_ promise Sakura, Tenten and Naruto that I would stay there… Moment of silence.

I took a deep breath. Guilt gone! My grin turned positively evil as I approached a room. I wasn't sure what my goal was all I knew was that I was trying to find someone I knew and annoy the hell out of them until I was found out. Regardless of that, I racked my brains to think of anyone who might be in the hospital. I couldn't think of anyone other than Lee, and believe me, I'm sure he's resting. Besides, I think that at the sight of me would be too exiting for him and he'd overexert himself… I started to feel guilty again but I shook it away. I'll go see him later.

As I walked past the room and continued walking, suddenly bored again. I hate these whimsical moods you can get in, the kind that you're so bored that you don't know what to do and therefore can't make up your mind. I walked past the window and I halted. My eyes widened as I, yet again, had major déjà vu. I placed my hands on the window and leaned out, closing my eyes and breathing. I suddenly had the urge, not to jump out, but to embrace _somebody._ I wasn't sure what it was but the memory of something that the window triggered caused me to feel an avalanche of emotions. I opened my eyes in shock as I realized exactly _what_ this emotion was. "What the—" I stood up quickly and then yelped as my head collided with the bottom of the window. I rubbed it and sighed. The memory was gone, but the emotion lingered, tingling lightly in my belly, like little butterflies. "I wonder what that was all about?" I asked myself out loud. The lovely sweetness of it was tainted by confusion. I couldn't understand what happened to me. I had the faintest clue that it had something to do with the dream I had, but I couldn't be for sure.

I realized that my breathing was coming in short gasps. I slowed it carefully. What _was_ that? And who was it for?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Ok," Jaraiya said, "I'm glad that you're better."

"Whatever," I muttered, "You're the reason I got sick in the first place."

He ignored me. "Anyway, while Naruto has successfully managed to summon a toad—"

"Is that why he's not here?" I asked, nervously peeking around Jaraiya to search for Naruto in the cluster of trees we were training in.

"Yes," he said, looking at me peculiarly. "He should be better in the morning."

"Tomorrow morning?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, "Regardless that gives me enough time to train you."

I raised my hand.

He gave me a look and nodded.

"All right," I said, half to myself, "So it has been… four days since the preliminaries ended…which means about twenty six more days… that's good. That gives Naruto even more time to train." It occurred to me that with all this time to train Naruto will be even stronger. How will this affect him? I though. How much stronger will he be in Shippuden ? The thought kind of scared me. Not only Naruto, but just the thought of Shippuden. In my mind's eye, I viewed myself skipping time two to three years and just appearing, just like the manga, even though I know that can't happen. I wonder what it'll be like to sit through those years? What will I do? I never thought about it before.

"Grace?" Jaraiya asked.

"Hm? Oh yeah. So I was wondering, how much do you think I'd be able to accomplish?"

"That really depends." Jaraiya said. "We'll start on some basic chakra control exercises, but unlike most children, you're kind of skipping the first steps, which are studying up on it. Most of the time children learn the basics of chakra control and everything to do with it by reading and studying it in the Academy. Then they learn some basics, but only enough to advance to Genin, the real training starts then. You're going straight to the real training, but you need to know everything about chakra and ninjas in order to fully train. That's why most of your training will occur in the library."

I nodded. That made sense. I didn't mind. I'd have access to any book… "Uh," I said, "There's a slight flaw in you're plan."

"What's that?" he said, taking a sip out of the sake bottle he had.

"I can't read."

He spat it out and choked. "What?"he said, bursting into laughter, "You can't _read_?" his laughter increased by the second.

"Hey, hey, hey!" I shouted, "That's not fair! It's not my fault I can't read flippin' Japanese!"

Something about what I said seemed to disturb him because he stopped laughing immediately and studied me for almost a minute. "I see," he said, "That really does change everything. I guess _I_ could teach you, although that would be a hassle… but it's the only way to go." He looked at me again, "Very well. We'll start with the basics."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sakura sighed as she clapped her hands again. He wasn't coming any closer. "Come on Bingly!" she said, "You know me! Come on!"

Bingly just sat there, in the middle of the road. "Oh I can't believe that dog," She muttered, "Fine, just stand there." She retorted, she turned on her heel and continued on her way to the training arena, where Anko was most likely waiting for her. Sakura grumbled to herself. Her new sensei would probably not be very pleased with her being late, but there's no getting around it.

She heard small footsteps and glanced behind her to see the small black dog following her. He stopped as soon as she spotted him. "So you're trailing me, huh?" she asked.

He blinked at her.

"What a strange dog," she muttered, scowling at him as she continued.

She smiled as she heard the pitter patter resume.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

I walked tiredly through the streets. I couldn't stand how tired I was. I accomplished _nothing._ Absolutely _nothing._ I didn't advance at all. I thought struck me. I walked up to a random man on the street and asked what day it was.

"July fifth," he said.

"Thanks." I said. I smiled. July fifth… that meant that the third exam was on the thirty first of July… Which means… I smiled gleefully. "I can have a birthday party for Sasuke!" People were probably staring at me like I was crazy but it didn't care.

If I remembered correctly, his birthday was in late july… Man, I had a lot of things to do.

I have to supervise Naruto's training.

I have to train myself.

I have to put together a girl's night out for Sakura, Tenten, Temari and Hinata (etc)

I have to put together a birthday party for Sasuke…

I have to become better friends with Sasuke and convince him not to betray the village…

And most importantly, at least at the moment…

I placed a hand over my chest, feeling the flutter of my heartbeats. I have to figure out what this feeling is inside of me.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jeez… If you ask me, Grace is really kind of stupid. Then again… I made her like this… (goes and sits like an empty shell in a corner (if you watch Ouran High School Host Club you'll know what I'm talking about)). Although, she does know sort of the emotion she's feeling is 'you know what' she just doesn't understand _why._ I think I'm going to slowly wind the dream in throughout part one, as she slowly understand what's happening to her… So, that was probably the worst chapter I've ever written, but that's ok. Again I apologize for the awful timing.

I've already started the next chapter so I should have it in before a weeks over.

Thank for reading!

fUnKyToEs


	23. The chapter that leads to nothing

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Chuunin Exams: Part XII

WORDS: 4, 120

DISCLAIMER: I do not claim anything… (fingers crossed...)

REVIEWERS:

_Pandastacia:_ Yes… I myself a like "Why the hell did I make my main character SUCH A DUMBASS?!" Jeez… whoo, emotional rant over. Yes, I can't wait till the Shippuden part either (evil grin) Thanks for reading!

_Kibafangirl11:_ Aww! (tears in eyes) That touches me so much! Thank you for reading! (and I like cookie cakes)

_White Alchemist Taya:_ Yes, She never expected to feel this way about Sasuke so she can't recognize it as they are because she just… never expected to fall for him… I also hope its not too late. Thanks for the review!

_Valinor's Twilight:_ Thanks for the encouragement. I'm glad you liked the chapter (and I'm sorry for uploading this one so late… ')

_Uzura-chan_: I'm glad you liked the dream part. It's very important and will play a big part in upcoming chapters… I hope… jk. I'm glad you liked the chapter. Keep an eye out, I've hidden quite a few hints in that chapter about what's going to happen at the end of this part of the story… and in upcoming chapters. I'm curious if you guys can figure it out before it happens… that's be cool.

_XXBlackfireXX_: Thanks for reading! I look forward to your story!

_Warning746:_ I'm glad you like it! Hopefully I'll be staying up to date on these (it's so hard with school, sweatdrop)

BLAH: Because it seems like most people read this story on the weekends (according to my story statistics) I've decided to upload these on Fridays… (I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a chapter in this Friday, but I'll work on it). So I encourage you all to be very strict in your reviews and threaten me to make me write (not really). I've just been really sick lately (migraines) so its been really hard to concentrate on something that involves bright computer screens. Well, enjoy this chapter! This chapter also has some hints in it.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I grinned as I approached the large building. I don't know why but surprising Konohamaru in his class today was going to be fun. Iruka-sensei had asked me to come in and say a bit about the Chuunin Exams, because I was a representative and a proctor for most of it. I was going to speak to all the classes, which would be fun, but kind of boring eventually since I'd be saying the same thing over and over again.

My patience will run really low. My shoulders sagged as I reached for the handle.

I shrieked as it swung open and nearly cut off my nose.

"Oh, Grace!" A tall Chuunin (probably a teacher) said as he held the door open, "I'm Yoruno-sensei, we've been expecting you." I walked in, "Iruka-sensei's room is this way," he said. I glanced behind me as the door closed. It didn't seem like Ryuichi was following me. Ever since I started training with Naruto I haven't really sensed him, which is strange because since he's following me I'm not supposed to sense him at all. Either he's gotten _really_ good at stealth or, the more likely answer is that he's been put to better use. It seems like they're finally trusting—

"What the _HELL_ are you doing here?" I whispered, for fear of a small ear would hear me. He smirked.

"What? It's my job to trail you." He said.

"Oh," Yoruno-sensei said, "Ryuichi, it's nice to see you!"

"Nice to see you too, Yoruno," Ryuichi said.

"Great," I muttered, "You know each other, let's have a tea party!" I said sarcastically.

Ryuichi opened his mouth but I cut him off, "What are you doing here anyway?" I asked him, "What do you think you're doing just showing up like this?"

He closed his mouth, "Well," he said, "Technically I haven't left you at all, you silly little girl," I bristled. "You see I've been trailing you the whole time."

"That's impossible."

"Is not."

"Prove it."

"Well, let's see…" he said, "Yesterday you trained with," he glanced at Yoruno, "_Him._ Then the day before that you were in the hospital, the day before that you were in the hospital, although I'm not sure, that was my day off…"

"You missed the day that would piss you off," I said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, a strange look crossing his face.

"Well," I said, shrugging, "Just _him_ doing something painful to me."

I realized after I said how awkward it sounded.

Ryuichi stiffened.

"That's not what I mean—I—I'll explain it to you afterwards," I said.

He nodded, a pissed look still lingering in his eyes.

"All right," I said, "I believe you… still creeps me out. I'd prefer it if you just walked next to me like a normal person but ok. At least you're wearing normal clothing and not a mask."

"Ah, Grace," Yoruno said, laughing uneasily, "The first class…"

"Oh, right," I said, grinning, "That's Konohamaru's class, right?"

"That's right!"

I stepped in the classroom, Ryuichi close behind. Somehow what I had said had disturbed him because he was following me closely. "Will you quit it?" I snapped, "It's really ticking me off!"

He glowered at me.

"Ah, class, this is Grace Witherspoon, she's going to be talking to you about the Chuunin exams."

I stared at them.

They stared at me.

I gulped. Why did I decide to do this? Oh yeah, the Hokage decided for me… that old flea bag. "Right," I said, "Hi!"

They stared.

"GRACE!" Konohamaru yelled, "Why did they chose _YOU_ to be the person!"

"Oh shut up you little toad faced idiot!" I yelled back.

Iruka and Ryuichi froze. I froze. "Well," I said, laughing nervously, rubbing the back of my head, "I'm not really sure about what I'm supposed to say… so how about you just ask questions and I'll answer them?"

"Um…"

"Ok!" A girl shouted, "How many contestants were at the first exam?!"

"Uh…" I said, starting to sweat, "I uh…" I looked at Ryuichi, "My job wasn't to count the students," I said, "I was there to watch if anyone cheated, so it wasn't my concern."

"Next inquiry!" The girl shouted. I winced. This girl reminded me of someone… just with a brain. "On what level, would you perceive, was the physiological trepidation of the contestants at the Chuunin Exams?"

I looked at Ryuichi in desperate panic.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Finally, the last class was over. The day (school wise) was just about to close. I sat outside on a bench, waiting for school to get out so that I could take Konohamaru home. Ryuichi sat next to me.

"Tell me." He said, not looking at me. Instead he was staring off into the distance, his elbows resting on his knees, the rest of his arms and hands hanging off his legs in a languid manner. I looked at him closely. When he was like this, his funny charms seemed to wear off and expose what was probably the real him. A passive, dark, and calculating man. Also passionate, I realized with a shock. His narrow dark blue eyes stared at something I couldn't see. Those eyes… although when I first met him, I was overpowered by annoyance and hatred because of his taunting but even in my anger I still remember thinking that those eyes were amazing. They were so deep…

"Those are nice tattoos." I said, diverting my attention way from his eyes. Although, it wasn't a very good diversion. He must work out a _lot._

"What?" he looked at me in surprise then looked at his arms. They were covered in tattoos that probably meant something I couldn't understand. "Oh, thanks."

"No problem. What exactly do you want me to tell you?"

He looked back to where he was staring. "What you didn't say in there." He said.

"Oh." I said, "Well, Jaraiya decided to seal me."

Ryuichi froze.

"What did you say?" he said, turning to look at me. I blinked at him. Normally, his eyes, even when he's joking or acting cheek his eyes were always furrowed, in a pensive contemplating kind of way. Now his eyes were wide and they lightened in color as the sun hit it. They were bluer than I realized.

"He tested my chakra, it was fire by the way," I said proudly, "But he said it was too much, I had too much of it so he did a seal. I don't really remember what happened… it was…" I touched my chest, "Really painful."

Ryuichi's eyes furrowed again. Other than his eyes he was completely unemotional, except… I looked away from him. I could _feel_ anger washing off of him.

"Grace," he said, "Why did you—"

"Ryuichi!"

We looked up to see a messenger ninja kneeling before us, "Ryuichi, the Hokage requests that you go to him immediately!"

We both stood up quickly, "What's this all about!" I said, "Why does the Hokage need him?"

"That I cannot say," The messenger said, "But it is urgent! Most of the Jounin will be there!"

Ryuichi nodded and then looked my way, "What about Grace?"

"The Hokage has ordered that she watches over herself until you are free." He said.

Ryuichi nodded, "Will you be ok by yourself?"

"Yes, _dad,_" I laughed, "Don't worry, I won't get into drugs, sex and alcohol when you're gone."

He grinned, "You better not."

The messenger ninja and he disappeared.

I smiled. I was actually getting fond of the 'grumpy' ANBU stalker.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I walked back to the building. I had heard the dismissal bell but decided to go and pick Konohamaru up from the inside. That was better than waiting for him (I decided not to have any patience today). I pushed the door open and then shrieked as a kid whizzed by on a skateboard. "What the…" I muttered, "Whoa it's totally hectic in here," I said the ninja next to me.

He nodded, "It's always like this at the end of the day."

I smiled and looked over the chaos to look for Konohamaru. I spotted him talking to a bunch of the kids I saw in the oldest graduating class. I made my way over to him. "Konohamaru!" I said, "We don't have time to waste, we should be going—"

"Hey!" The kid said, "We're busy here!"

"Don't 'hey' me!" I said.

"Oh? Make me!"

"I will!" I said.

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"Uh, Grace?" Konohamaru said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to teach this punk a lesion!" I shouted, cracking my knuckles.

"Uh, Grace?" Konohamaru asked.

"What?"

"Aren't we supposed to go?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," I said, "Right, let's go!" I turned around and started walking away.

"Yeah!" the boy sneered, "Go run off, it's not like _girl_ like you would last very long against a _man_ like me!"

I froze. Konohamaru's gulped and started backing away from me, silently deciding what kind of offering he'd bring to this kid's funeral. I slowly turned around, head down and eyes shadowed. "What." I said, through gritted teeth, "Did. You. Just. SAY?" I advanced, shaking the floor with each step. The kid gulped and started to back away as quickly as he could but his back hit the wall. "I'll make you PAY FOR THAT!" I shouted, glaring at him. I raised my fists and was about to land a punch to his head when I was caught, my hand propelled in mid air above my head.

"Violence doesn't really suit you." A voice said from behind me, a smirk evident in it.

I blinked in surprise and looked around. "Sasuke!" I said.

He smirked again and brought my fists slowly down to rest at my side, then let go quickly as if burned, "Hey," he said, hands in his pockets, "We should probably get out of here before one of the teachers realize what's going on."

"Uh, yeah!" I said, bounding after him. Why do I feel like I just ran a mile? My heart's pumping like crazy… Am I really so out of shape that I'm out of breath without even landing a punch? Gotta' work out!

A boy ran up to the boy that I nearly mutilated and exclaimed, "Are you ok? Sushimaru?"

"Y—yeah," Sushimaru said, "But… _man_ that girl is scary! No wonder she was a proctor for the Chuunin Exams! Did anyone else notice how all of a sudden her eyes turned kind of—"

The door clicked behind me as Konohamaru shut it, then he ran to catch up with us. "There you are," I said, fondly hitting his head. "So," I said, walking side by side with Sasuke while Konohamaru followed behind, "What are you doing? I thought you were training with Kakashi?"

"I was," Sasuke said, "But Kakashi had to go to the Hokage and I got the rest of the day off."

"Huh?" I wondered out loud, "That makes sense… I guess… Ryuichi had to go as well."

"Ryuichi… oh, that's your bodyguard, isn't it?"

"Huh? Yeah," I said.

Konohamaru smirked, "I bet _I_ know who wishes he were Grace's body guard."

Sasuke got a strange expression on his face and flinched about three feet away from me. "Huh?" I said, turning back to look at Konohamaru, "Who?"

Konohamaru shook his head, "Never mind," he chuckled.

"So…" I said, "So how did you find us?"

"I was on my way home and I heard you," he said.

"Really?" I said, skeptical. Am I really _that_ loud? "Wait a second!" I said, intelligence coming to me for the first time that day, "You're home is on the other side of town, why were you all the way over here?"

"_Yeah,_" Konohamaru said, slyly, "What were you doing, _Sasuke?_"

Sasuke gave Konohamaru a flustered glare then said, a slight bit of color appearing on his face, "I was looking for someone."

I blinked. "Who?" was it a girl? For some reason it sort of… pissed me off?

"_Yeah,_" Konohamaru said, "_Who _was it?"

"I—uh—it doesn't matter." He said, even more flustered.

"Wait a second!" I said as intelligence hit me again, "You should probably keep looking for them!"

"Unless he already found them," Konohamaru muttered.

Sasuke's body went through a small spasm at this comment and he sent yet another silencing glare. "Well, I did find them," he said, "Then I was on my way home again when I heard you."

"Who was it?" I asked.

He didn't respond.

"Well," I said, sensing that the subject was now officially over, "Let's go get something to eat."

"To eat?" Konohamaru said.

"Yeah," I said, "How about ramen! Let's go to that ramen place… I bet Naruto will be there too!"

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked. His voice sounded a little disappointed.

"Yeah!" I said, "Come on, I know you want to fight him but _come on_, he is my training buddy after all!"

"Training buddy?" Sasuke asked before I grabbed his hand and pulled him and Konohamaru off in the direction of the ramen shop.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I _knew_ it!" I said, "Naruto _is_ here!"

Naruto looked around, noodles dripping from his mouth. "Ogph! Gwace!" he mumbled.

"Swallow before you talk, idiot!" I said. He gulped it down, choked a little, then drank some water.

We sat down.

Seating arrangements: Konohamaru, Naruto, Me, Sasuke. Notice how the M in 'Me' is capitalized. Hence the superiority of my race (female).

"So how are you feeling?" I asked him, "You seemed to have recovered fast from your training!" I said as I ordered ramen, "That's pretty impressive seeing as I'm sure you were pretty beat up!"

"Hey! Hey!" he said, ordering his (probably eighth) bowl of ramen. "Not as beat up as you when you were rushed to the hospital. Man, I thought maybe you were dead!"

Sasuke froze.

"Oh," I said, "Nah, I mean, sure, I felt like my entire body was being destroyed, but I guess that's what I get for letting the old pervert do whatever he wants with me…"

"Yeah…" Naruto said, "How are you by the way?" he asked, "You know… that seal must have hurt…"

I frowned, "I'm doing well, I'm sore a little bit but most of the burning pain is gone."

I felt danger behind me. I turned my body to face the person next to me and my eyes widened, "Sasuke," I said, "What—what's that look for—did I do something to get you angry?"

"What…" he said, "Why didn't…"

"Your ramen is ready!" our ramen was handed to us.

"Thanks!" I said. "Let's ea—"

"Another bowl!" Naruto yelled, holding out his empty ramen bowl.

"What the—your finished already!"

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, "I'm a growing man!"

"Are not!" I said, "I don't think you've grown at all since I've gotten here!"

"THAT'S A LIE!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!

"Is not!"

"What are we fighting about?" Naruto asked.

I froze, "I… have no idea…" I muttered after a moment. I returned to sucking on some noodles. "This is really good." I said. I grabbed one of the ingredients that looked like meat.

"So how's training going for you, Sasuke?" Naruto asked the guy sitting next to me.

"Good. How's yours?" Sasuke said in a bored tone but I knew that he was interested. After all, _I'm_ training with Naruto. Ha—ha—ha… sarcastic moment of idiocy.

"Good," I said, replying for Naruto. I looked down at my ramen and realized that I had lost my appetite. I pushed the bowl over to Naruto, "Here," I said, "You can finish mine, I'm not hungry."

"Thanks," Naruto said, grabbing it and wolfing it down.

"Put it all on my tab," I told the shop keeper, meaning Gramp's tab. They nodded and wished me a good day as I jumped off the stool. "Come on, Konohamaru, let's go."

"Huh?" Konohamaru said, "Already?"

"Yup," I said, "It's already four, Konohamaru, we've got to go home and start your homework, and _I _have to find Ryuichi again…"

"That's right, I don't see the stalker around."

"Stalker?" asked Sasuke.

"Oh," I said, "Just Ryuichi…"

"Grace," Konohamaru said, "You didn't eat that much…"

"Oh, I had a really big lunch…"

"You didn't have time for lunch today, remember?"

"Oh yeah, well, I had a _really_ big breakfast…"

"Grace," Konohamaru said, "You had half a banana…"

"Well," I said, "I'm going on a diet." I started walking away.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Well," Grace said as she was walking away, "I'm going on a diet."

"You know," Konohamaru said, their voices getting fainter and fainter, "Starving yourself isn't a diet."

"And when did you become………..expert?"

"………well…..food…."

"Looks like they're gone," Naruto said, "Oh well…"

"Naruto," Sasuke said, his eyes dark, "What happened to Grace? Why was she in the hospital."

"She's training with me, and she had to get her chakra sealed, I can't tell you any more than that," Naruto said, "And even that, you can't tell anyone…" Naruto grinned as another bowl of ramen was placed in front of him, "Time to dig in!"

Sasuke sighed and got off the stool, paid for his ramen and then left, going home.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I fail to see how this helps," I muttered as Ryuichi forced my mouth open. "I don't need help eating!" I tried to shout but when a man has his finger in your mouth to make sure you keep it open it's hard to talk. The rest of his hand was around my chin and mouth, keeping my jaw propelled open.

"Yes you do." He stuck the spoon full of pudding in my mouth. I gagged but he held my mouth closed, forcing me to swallow. He smiled, "See?" he said, "That wasn't so bad."

"You're sadistic…" I muttered.

"I know," he grinned, "Ready to eat more?"

"Am I ever?" I muttered sarcastically. Gee…

"What are you two doing?" Konohamaru asked as he walked into the kitchen. He halted and stared at us. Then he smirked. "You know, I could think of a really—"

"But don't." I said, pulling my head away from Ryuichi's hand, "You say anything—_hint_ at anything perverted and I'll personally skin you alive." I brandished a kitchen knife to prove my point.

Konohamaru sighed, "Yeah, yeah," then I walked up to us and took a seat at the table. "I need some help with this." He said, putting his papers on the table.

"You are so retarded—_I _know the answers to those!" I exclaimed.

"Well—why don't _YOU_ do my homework!" Konohamaru said, growling at me.

"Because I wouldn't stoop so low as to sink to your level," I said, haughtily.

Ryuichi sighed. "I'll help you." He said, pulling the paper towards him his eyes skimming the paper. For the five minutes he tutored Konohamaru. I watched the both of them in silence, and then I realized what it was about this that was so familiar. Somehow, without really—truly—realizing it, I had unintentionally created a family for myself. The Hokage was the Grandfather, Konohamaru was the little brother, and Ryuichi was the brother-like neighbor. The only thing disturbing about that was normally the mary sue—

"You know," I said, my random brain skipping a few beats and through processes to land somewhere totally out of the ordinary, "I think Sasuke is OOC."

They stopped talking and stared at me.

Ryuichi blinked, "What?" he asked.

"What is OOC?" Konohamaru asked.

I then froze. "Did I say that out loud?" I asked, "I didn't mean to!"

Ryuichi's eyes glinted, "Oh, but really, we're curious as to why you think Sasuke is this—OOC?"

"Yes," Konohamaru said slyly, the evil glint in his eyes too, "What does this mean—Grace?"

Um… "OOC means out of character," I said, "I just think that Sasuke is acting out of character. That's all."

"You mean different than when you first got here?" Ryuichi asked, trying to understand what I was talking about."

"Yeah." I said, taking a bite out of a peach. Ryuichi grinned at the act and then continued.

"It only makes sense," Ryuichi said, "Who we are and how we act changes and depends much on our friends and those who are around us. Most likely, if you did not come here, Sasuke would be the same as he was when you weren't here, but since you befriended him, and, before you protest, you have made quite the impact on him. I think you being here has changed who he is."

I stared at him. "Wow," I said, "You are smart!"

He glared at me. "Finish that fruit."

I sighed. "Fine… fine…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I ran to catch up with Naruto. I crouched over, panting, "I ran to your apartment, thinking I'd catch you but you already left," I gasped out. I looked behind me, wondering if Konohamaru would wake up in time to catch up. I decided that, because it was his day off of school (some random teacher development crap or something) he was sleeping in. I left a note and I'm pretty sure Ebisu was going to pick Konohamaru up for a training session (the poor little guy).

Naruto looked at me, and said, "You know something, Grace? You're really out of shape. That's just my personal opinion."

I glared at him, "Well," I said, "You know something, Naruto? You don't have a brain," I said, berating myself afterwards for the poor comeback. Naruto chuckled to himself, and then continued to read a magazine that had a blank cover so I couldn't figure out what was on it. "What are you doing?" I asked, sitting next to him. I peered over his shoulder at what he was looking at.

I gagged and slapped the book out of his hands, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!!" I shrieked, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING READING PORNOGRAPHY!"

He backed away from me, "I—I—I—I—I—I've gotta go!" he dashed away. I took a few deep breaths and then sighed. Then again, this squirt did invent the sexy jutsu… speaking of which, I wonder what would happen if a girl used sexy jutsu… I shook my head. "Where's the pervert sage?" I asked myself. I glanced around. Naruto was gone, and, unless I spent all day tracking him, was probably going to hide from me.

I continued walking, aware in the back of my head, like a mental itch, of being followed. I knew it was only Ryuichi, and it was strange that I was slowly getting used to the idea of being followed, as well as being able to sense his presence more and more.

I paused, slightly hesitating before taking more steps. I thought about what had happened yesterday. Where did Ryuichi go? Why was he called the Hokage's office? And Kakashi for that matter… and what was up with Sasuke? Why was he looking for someone? I knew, somewhere, that Sasuke wasn't really looking for anyone, and if he was, I also knew that he was most likely looking for me. Why else would he have been there at the best time to stop me from annihilating that kid? But why was he looking for me? Why did he have that hurt angry look on his face when Naruto mentioned that I had been in the hospital?

I touched my hand, why do I still feel Sasuke's hand on mine? The memory of his touch still lingers. A slight memory touched my conscience, and I took a grab at it, thinking that perhaps it was that memory or dream that would explain this new emotion, but it dashed out of the way, laughing at me as it stayed just beyond my reach. Why? Why am I feeling this way? What is this distorted feeling of confusion inside of me?

"But for now," I said, talking to Ryuichi, "What should I do?"

He appeared behind me, touching my shoulder, "What you feel best."

I shivered under his touch, then said, "I'm just a kid, how am I supposed to change things, or make things better for a whole world? It's easy enough when I was sitting at home to think of ways, but then I was just myself, just a kid. I'm still a kid, why doesn't anyone understand that?"

Ryuichi pulled me into a comforting embrace, "I'll be here for you, never forget that."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

END OF THE CHAPTER!!

The next chapter will be… (wink wink) a time skip of two weeks if you know what I mean! I'm so excited… but the truth is that I'm bored of writing stuff that doesn't mean anything. I've devoted these past two chapters to hints of future chapters and of the shippuden part of the story, but I doubt that it makes sense now. Oh, and I have a valuable excuse for being late: I'm sure you've all had headaches, and that's what I've been having. But I haven't been having headaches, I've been having migraines. I don't know if any of you have ever had one but if you have you'd know that the LAST thing you EVER want to do is look at a bright computer screen, and I've been avoiding computers like the plague. However, I'm much better now, thankfully, and will be able to concentrate more on chapters.

Right, just to warn you guys, the next chapter will be FULLY FLUFF! Well, as fluffy as I can make it.

The ever crazy, fUnKyToEs


	24. Ze Befowa Jsaptier

"I have to get stronger…"

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: Ze _Befowa_ Jsaptier (not supposed to make sense but it's really late and I'm starting to go crazy…)

WORDS: 6, 354 words

DISCLAIMER: I don't own it.

WARNING: No serious plot (no plot at all) as well as OCC

REVIEWS:

: Get your mind out of the gutter! Creep… jk ^^

_Pandastacia: _Yup, emotional retarded… I already have 'buddy' plans for Grace and Sai, for Grace is the only person who enjoys spending time with Sai because she's going to find him 'hilarious'. No, Ryuichi does not know that she's from another world.

_Kibfangirl11:_ Sorry it took so long with this one! Ah… Well, thanks for the review (very enthusiastic…) I think you'll enjoy next weeks chapter.

_Warning746:_ Always wanted to ask you this, but is there any special reason your penname is warning746? Well, thanks for the review! I hope you like this chapter!

_Valinor's Twilight: _Thanks! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

_XXBlackfireXX_: GASP! (^___^) I love it! ^___________________^ long nose… Anyway, glad you liked the hapter! I really liked yours ^___^!

_Foxflight_: About the color of her eyes… I can't tell you that! That would spoil the whole sequel!!!

_White Alchemist Taya_: I love the name Taya… good choice. Anyway, you're right about changes, and you're right about most of what you said. good work! ^__^

_Uzura-chan_: Yup, the ending is weird… I guess I was sLiGhtLy inSaNe I wrote it… O.o Anyway, Yeah, Neji, and especially Gaara (especially) get much larger and more important roles when the story goes back to the original plot. I'm sorry for the lateness of the chapter and I hope that you like this one!

BLAH:

Ok, sorry this is so late. Anyway, Sasuke may appear to be out of character in this chapter, but it's really hard to not make him out of character when he's supposed to be 'embarrassed' or awkward. Seriously.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"_I have to get stronger…"_

I woke up in a cold sweat. Breathing heavily, I stared into the darkness. I pulled the covers up to my chin and bit my lip. _Sasuke…_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

There was knocking. It was loud, and I was asleep. Note the past tense, _was_ asleep. No thanks to the knocking… I looked down at myself in half opened eyes. Last night, I was too tired to get dressed, and all I accomplished was taking off my shirt and putting on pajama shorts, but I was only wearing a bra on top… God, no wonder I didn't sleep well last night. Speaking of which… I shivered at the memory of the dream. Sasuke… Will he really turn out that way? Even with me around? What if he does? I don't think I'll be able to stand it… I'd rather die than see him that way…

The knocking continued. "Who is it?" I called out from under the comforters.

"Sasuke."

I threw the covers off and jumped out of the bed, rushing over to the door and throwing it open, "Sasuke!" I shouted, "I'm so glad you're here, I have to talk to you—what's the matter?"

Sasuke took a few steps away from me, his face turning a dark crimson and I noticed that his eyes weren't located at my face.

"Wha…?" I looked down and shrieked, covering myself and rushing back into my room, slamming the door behind me. I grabbed the nearest shirt and put it on and then opened the door again, "Ah," I said, blushing, "Sorry about that…" I looked at him, "Um… so anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Well," he said, "I haven't seen you in a while and I have to train with Kakashi later and I heard that you're having… some get together, so I thought I'd catch you in the morning."

"Huh?" I said, "Oh yeah, GNO is tonight… So, what do you want to do?"

He paused, "Have you eaten yet?" he asked.

"Huh? No… I just woke up—oh! I see! You want to go out to breakfast!"

"Sure." He said.

"Yeah! Let me get dressed—like in real clothes." I said, and I turned around and walked back into my room, closing the door (duh) behind me. I walked over to my bureau and pulled one of the drawers open. What to wear… I pulled out some black leggings and put them on and then found a white shirt/dress thing and put it on over it. I went to my closet and found some white slippers. I brushed my hair, and peering closer in the mirror… The roots were a dark blond. "Looks like I'll need to dye my hair again…" I muttered. I put a black headband, smirked at myself for being so color coordinated, then mock slapped my face for being fresh with _myself._ God, I'm so stupid sometimes. I put on some make up and then walked out the door. Sasuke wasn't there. I walked down the hall, towards the 'front part of the house.' I passed Ryuichi in the hall. He was walking with a newspaper and his coffee (don't ask, I don't know _how_ the man manages reading a newspaper and sipping coffee while walking and not falling on Konohamaru's toys). He glanced up and stared at me.

"Where's Sasuke?" I asked him.

"He's waiting outside…" he said, looking me up and down, "Aren't you a little dressed up for a breakfast date?"

I froze, "You're right," I said after a moment, "It is a breakfast date! This'll be my first date…"

A grin tugged at Ryuichi's lips but he put on a stern look, "Should I give Sasuke the 'if you do anything to my daughter I'll kill you' speech?"

"Except you're not my father," I pointed out.

"Well the Hokage's not here at the moment and I'll the oldest representative." He shrugged.

"Well, no thanks," I said, "I'll pass on Sasuke being even _more _emotional scarred for the rest of his life."

"But still," Ryuichi said, "Aren't you a little dressed up?"

"No!" I said, "I'm dressed _nice._" I looked down at myself, "These are clothes that Tenten and Sakura picked out for me… they told me to wear them if I was ever going on a date like thing…"

"I wonder why…" Ryuichi muttered. _Those girls_, he thought, _they are manipulative, aren't they?_ "Well," Ryuichi said, "I won't follow you, but make sure that Sasuke escorts you back here."

"Right," I rolled my eyes, "Thanks!" I called after him he continued walking.

I stepped outside and had to shade my eyes to see properly. I saw Sasuke sitting on the steps. "Hey!" I called out, skipping over to him. He looked up and blinked at me.

He stood up and said, "You… look nice."

"Thanks!" I said. "I had to dress up," I said, "This is my first date!" I winked at him. His eyes widened for a moment, and then he smiled.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"They're going." Ryuichi said as he past them on the hall.

The four he was talking to grinned at each other, then proceeded to follow the pair.

"This is sooooo exiting!" the pink haired one whispered.

"I brought a camera," a girl with brown buns said, "Should I start now… or later?"

"Later," a blond boy said, "We don't want to waste the film."

"Naruto," Sakura said, "It's a digital camera…"

"What's that?" Naruto asked, dumb faced.

They three others sighed.

"Shhhh…" Konohamaru said, "Or Sasuke will notice. We don't have to worry about Grace, she doesn't notice _anything_."

"Yeah," Sakura said, "Not even that…" they hushed as Sasuke and Grace stopped in front of a resteraunt.

"Heeey…" Tenten sighed, "That's an expensive restaurant! Ooh… this is sooo dreamy!"

Naruto and Konohamaru looked at each other exasperated, "Yeah, but Grace doesn't even _like_ expensive restaurants." Naruto said, "Although she won't complain."

"Why not?" Tenten asked, "I mean, Grace is my best friend but she never doesn't speak her mind."

"You might not know it," Konohamaru said, in an voice of authority. "But Grace is actually very polite and shy. You'll notice that she only acts like a bitch—" he got hit on the head by both girls, "—around people she knows and cares about, but around people she doesn't know or respects, she's very polite."

"You'd never know it," Naruto grumbled, then said, "Yeah, and in this case, it's the first time she's been on a date, and it's with _Sasuke…_"

"Do you really think that she considers it a date? She's probably just using it as a joke…" Tenten said. Then she grinned. "Naruto, transform into middle aged man, Sakura, a middle aged woman… and Konohamaru, just turn into a kid."

They looked at each other and then Sakura realized what Tenten was talking about.

"I see…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A family of three walked into the restaurant. "Oh, welcome!" a pretty brown haired waitress said, "Just the three of you? Come this way…" The waitress picked up three menus and then walked over to a table next to a younger couple. As the three sat down she gave them the menus, "I'll be right over as soon as I get the orders for the table next over," she said, "Glad my team once had to serve at a restaurant for a mission," Tenten whispered to them.

The woman smiled.

Tenten walked over to the other table.

"Soo… Saku—" Naruto grunted as Sakura kicked him in the groin. "I—I mean… honey…" he said, "How's work going?"

"Oh…" Sakura said, "It's going good…"

Silence.

"This is kind of a date, too." Naruto said, winking at Sakura.

Konohamaru cleared his throat while Sakura kicked Naruto again in the groin.

"Right…" Naruto grunted, "Forgot about that…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Ready to order?" Tenten asked, smiling at the young couple.

"Yes," The girl said. She looked older then the boy, by about a few years, and was a few inches taller then him. Her eyes scanned the menu one last time before she placed her order. The boy also ordered food (duh…), and Tenten, rushing to write it all down, smiled and walked off to the kitchens.

"_Excuse me?"_ _the young girl asked the waitress, "Which waiter or waitress serves those two tables?"_

"_Oh!" the waitress said, smiling, "That's me!"_

"_What's your name?" the girl asked._

"_It's Miu," the waitress said._

"Miu!" a woman said, "Good, give those orders to the chefs, and you have more customers!"

More… Tenten thought, she glanced at the door and sure enough, more were coming in. Well, she thought, I suppose a waitress has to have more then two tables.

"That's be filling up your second to last table," the woman said, "We're busy."

"Yes," Tenten said, smiling. She gave the orders to the chefs and then walked over to the people, reaching to gets some menus, "How may I help you?" she didn't get a good look at them."

"On this gloriously YOUTHFUL day?" a man said, "We are perfectly fine, how are you, most beautiful lady?"

Tenten froze, her eyes slowly rising till she looked right into the face of her sensei. After a moment, she looked at his companions. The two looked up at her. Neji and Lee… Wait… isn't he supposed to be in the hospital? I thought he was going to be allowed to be released in a few days… then she realized that he was in a wheel chair. That explains it.

"Just the three of us, unfortunately," their sensei said, "My charming student Tenten was not able to come to our team breakfast! Ah… her presence will be missed."

"Right…" Tenten said, filling with horror. "Please come this way…"

It was a triangle. The three tables were placed in a triangular shape, so that all the people sitting in them could see each other. This was horrible! Tenten thought, what am I going to do? And Neji… Neji will surely be able to detect that we are all using the transformation jutsu!

"I'll be right back," she said and rushed to the kitchen. She got Grace and Sasuke's food and gave it to them, then walked over to Sakura, Naruto and Konohamaru. "What the hell do I do?" Tenten hissed.

"I—this is bad…" Sakura said.

"Tell me about it!" Naruto said, "They're sitting right next to us and Sasuke and Grace!"

Said couple noticed the people next to them. Their reactions were almost comical. Sasuke had a very pissed and slightly embarrassed look on his face while Grace just stared. "Lee!" she said, "I thought you were in the hospital!"

"They released him a few days early," Guy said, "Unfortunately, he'll have to go back later today and they want him in the wheel chair for the whole day."

"Thank god," Neji muttered.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I smiled. That's good; it's so cute that their team is going out to breakfast… "Hey," I said, "Sasuke… thanks so much for taking me out to breakfast!"

"Hn."

I frowned. "You know," I said, "This is the first time a guy ever asked me out."

"Hn."

"Why do you do that?" I muttered, "You're so obnoxious…"

There was silence. "So uh…" I said as I racked my brain for a discussion topic, _anything_ to break the silence. "Sasuke, I hear you have two goals in life."

"Yeah?" he asked, "What about it?"

"Ok, so one is that you want to rebuild the Uchiha clan, right?"

"Yes…" he said, unsure about where I was going with this.

"Well…" I said, "I'm curious about how you plan on going about that."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I was aware of the people near me being extremely quiet. What weird people… I thought. "Well, I mean, you do realize that there are no female Uchiha right? So how do you plan on procreating the Uchiha clan?"

He just stared at me. "I…" he began.

The people next to us were _very_ quiet.

"And you know, and don't take any offense to this, but you don't really seem like a family guy," I said, "I mean, in order to rebuild the Uchiha clan you have to have a _lot_ of kids…and I just don't see you liking kids…"

"Well…" he said, awkwardly.

"And even if you do," I said, on a rant, "The children you have will all be related to each other and can't have children with_ each other_, and so they'll have to have children with other people and eventually the Uchiha blood will just disappear anyway."

There was an awkward silence.

"Blood lines don't really work like that," he said. "It doesn't matter how much of the blood you have, its how strong it is for the individual person."

"Oh," I said, "I didn't realize that."

"But still," he said, "The less blood the person has, the less of a chance they have at having a stronger blood line then someone who is full blooded."

"I see…" I said, but the truth was he totally lost me there.

There was a moment when neither talked, then Sasuke, slightly hesitant, said, "What about you?"

I glanced uneasily at the table next to us. They were watching us—the creeps! "What about?" I asked, turning my attention to Sasuke.

He gave me a pointed look.

"Oh!" I said, "Well… I plan on becoming a ninja… so… but I still want to have kids and get married and the whole deal. I love kids so I want to a have a lot, maybe four or five…"

Someone at the table next to started coughing suspiciously.

"Why do you ask?" I asked Sasuke, slightly suspicious.

"Just curious." He said. "What kind of man do you want to get married to?"

I _thought_ that the husband at the table next to us made an almost victory yell, but it was so quiet that I couldn't quite decide _what_ kind of noise he made. Besides, his wife totally kicked the shit out of him. Poor guy… "We've already went through this," I said. "And you made fun of me, remember?"

"I mean, like," he paused, finding the right words, "You told me what your dream guy, but what kind of guy would you want to spend the rest of your life with?"

"Well…" I said, "I guess…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"And I'll take… everything on this page!" Guy said, laughing heartedly. Tenten wished to be _anywhere_ but where she was at the moment. _Anywhere…_

"I'll order the same as Guy-sensei!" Lee shouted.

"I'll just order number two," Neji sighed. Tenten knew that he didn't want to be there either. He looked up at her and then narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Right!" Tenten said, rushing off, "Be right back with your food!" she gave the orders to the cooks, breathing hard. Why did this have to happen? She thought.

"Miu?" the manager said, a concerned look on her face, "Are you alright?"

"Um… yeah…" Tenten said, "Be right back!" Tenten walked over to Sakura, Naruto and Konohamaru, "What do I do?" she asked, panicking.

"Um…" Sakura said, "Don't worry, we'll get through this… we'll get through this…"

"As long as things don't get _more_ complicated," Tenten said, "I think we'll be alright…"

"Woohoo!" a loud voice said, "_Expensive_ barbeque!"

"Choji!" A sharp female voice shouted, "Don't talk so loudly! We're in a public building! And it's _breakfast_!"

"Jeez, you guys are such a drag…"

"A table for four, please."

"I think…" Tenten said, "I spoke too soon…"

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"Well…" I said, "I'd have to say that… like, with dating, it's all about what the person looks like and acts like, because love doesn't really matter, but when you get married, love is the whole point, plus procreating but I have no intention of marrying someone just to procreate—"

"Why don't you just call it _sex_!" the man next to us shouted. He was kicked by his wife.

"I—I'm sorry about that!" His wife apologized, sending her husband a glare. There was something about how this woman dealt with her husband that was strangely familiar. Plus I'm totally weirded out.

"Anyway, when it comes to marriage, it's all about love, so I don't really care about what the person looks like, because if I love him, then I'll marry him, not because he's handsome or whatever, although," I said, "That'd be a bonus… Anyway, I like people with a sense of humor, people who can me laugh, so that way I won't feel awkward around them… and I'd like someone… who had a very strong personality and opinions, preferable similar but different than mine, so that we could argue."

"Argue?" Sasuke asked.

"Yup."

"Why?" he asked.

"Well," I said, "Because I think you really know and love a person when you can fight and argue about the simplest thing and still love each other by the end of the day!"

"That's just stupid," he said, "How can you love a person if you're always fighting?"

"_That's the point!" _I said through gritted teeth, "That's how you know you love each other!"

"Yeah, but if you _fight_ all the time, won't that lead to actual animosity towards each other?"

"Then you don't really love each other!" I said, "That's the whole point!"

"I don't think there is a single couple who could have a relationship based entirely on how well they argue." He said.

"Hey!" I said, "You're twisting my words! I never said that's the _only_ thing I want in a relationship!"

"And _I'm _just saying that you need to rethink your basis, I mean, even _you_ for all your talk can't say that if you fight _always_ with a person you won't eventually get so fed up with them that you don't feel any love towards them?"

"You're not making any sense!" I muttered.

"_You're_ the one not making any sense…" he muttered.

"What was that?" I snapped, "_You're_ the one not making the sense!"

"No." he said, "I think you're the one."

"Well, who cares what you think!" I scorned.

"I certainly didn't ask you." He retorted.

Silence.

"So…" I said, "What do you think of this dessert?"

"Hmm… that looks nice," Sasuke said, "You want get it?"

"Sure!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"It's ironic…" Sakura muttered, "They forgot they were fighting already…"

"Looks like Grace was right in the first place!" Naruto beamed, "I think that they're the only people in the world who can forget that easily!"

"Just shows how much they are perfect for each other!" Sakura squealed.

However… over with Tenten…

"Come this way please," she said in a robotic voice as she led the four people towards her last table… right next to the other three. Tenten was filled with dread. How could things have gotten this complicated?!?!?!?!?

"Right, I'm starving!" Choji shouted gleefully.

"You are soo…" Ino trailed off. "What… the… WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" She shrieked, pointing at Grace and Sasuke.

Everyone in the restaurant cringed, but after a moment, everything went back to an awkward 'normalness'. Except for a certain waitress's tables.

"Oh… shit…" the Naruto muttered.

"God why do _they_ all have to be here?" Shikamaru droned.

"This is bad…" Sakura whispered.

Grace and Sasuke just stared miserably at the new arrivals. Ino stormed right over to their table, "What do you guys think you're doing?" she said again, but she was pointing at Grace, "Who the _hell_ do you think you are!?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ino stormed right over to our table and pointed at me, "What do you guys think you're doing?" She said, "Who the _hell_ do you think you are?!"

My eyebrow twitched, "What kind question is that?" I snapped, "Why the hell do you care, anyway?"

"How _dare_ you go on a date with _my_ Sasuke!"

The people, including Neji, Lee, Guy and Ino's team, as well as, surprisingly, the weird couple near me, all got panicked looks on their faces. And with good reason. This blond bitch went _too_ far! I stood up, my chair skidding back a few inches and I slammed my hands on the table, "Look, _bitch_," I seethed, "Who is the one on the _date_ with him? And don't you _dare_ call Sasuke yours! If he belongs to anyone he belongs to _me!_ I'm the one of the freaking date!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ino took a few steps back, and then brandished her fists, but her arm was caught by Asuma. "Hold it," he said, "We're in a public building, you can't just go fighting. Let's just eat and relax."

Ino grumbled but coincided. They sat down at a table not far from everyone else, in fact, now the tables were in a square formation. Tenten, knowing that her death was soon to come, went over to their tables and took their orders (it took an _awfully_ long time due mainly to Choji's order)

She hurried over to the kitchen and gave the order, breathing heavily. Why on _earth_ did she decide this was a good idea? It _seemed_ like a good idea back when she was thinking it out, and there was only Grace and Sasuke… but now with all of these people too? She was signaled to Guy's table, and, swearing to _never_ take up being a waitress, went to him. "Ehem…" Guy coughed, drawing her to the side, he whispered so to not alert Lee, "If you see a young girl with brown hair walk in, please just _carefully_ and silently bring her over here… she's the missing member of our team and she promised to surprise Lee—he doesn't know that she's coming!"

Tenten just stood there, her tall adult body slumped in half, not moving.

"_I'm sorry, Guy sensei," Tenten said, "But I promised Sakura and Naruto that I'd hang out with them today. I really wish that I could come with you and Lee and Neji to breakfast, but I already made arrangements."_

_Her sensei looked at her with tears in his eyes, "But…" he said, "But this is so important!" he said, a sob evident in his voice, "This is the first time, and…" he released a far too dramatic sob, "Could possibly the only time he's allowed out of the hospital since his injuries! And it's only for a day!"_

_Tenten sweat dropped. "Well," she said, "I guess I could squeeze in a little bit of time…"_

"_Great!" Guy sensei said, recovering completely from his emotionally escape moments before, "How about I tell Lee you can't make it and you surprise him, ok? That would make his day!"_

While Tenten was slowly realizing that her days as a sane person were quickly coming to an end… Naruto…

Had infiltrated the kitchens, transformed into Miu, the waitress, and was currently giggling gleefully to himself—caugh—herself—caugh—while changing Ino's food choices to 'calorie stuffed foods that are meant for people meaning to gain weight.' He didn't know quite what caused him to do this, or changing Choji's order to 'calorie saving food'. Giggling and getting strange looks from the cooks, he transformed back into 'himself' and walked back, the grin still on his face.

"This is bad!" Sakura whispered to Konohamaru, "Tenten is supposed to be with Guy sensei and her team! But she can't just stop being a waitress!"

"I'll go!" Konohamaru whispered and dashed off to somewhere where he could transform.

Naruto sat down, still grinning that 'I just did something evil' grin he always wore whenever he just pulled a good prank…

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Eh…" Sasuke said, "That was… sort of…"

"Huh?" I asked, "Oh sorry about that. Ino annoys me, I mean, why does she always fawn over you anyway? I don't get it…" I drifted into silence.

I stared at the middle aged man. He was just sitting down, suspiciously coming from the kitchens, but for some reason… his expression… _NARUTO?_ I nearly jumped out of my seat. There was no mistaking it. It _had _to be! Which meant that the woman…! The woman had to be Sakura! No one else treats (In public—no wait…) Naruto like that! And the kid… Konohamaru was missing… But why was Naruto… Speaking of which, he rushed off to the men's room, so, standing up, I told Sasuke, "Well," I said, "I… uh… have to make a call." I said, rushing after Naruto. Sasuke stared after me bewildered.

Luckily I caught Naruto before he reached the bathroom. "Wait!" I said. The man froze, turning around as shot through the back. "Naruto?" I asked.

He just stared at me. It was weird, looking _up_ at Naruto, even if it didn't look like him, "How did you know?" he asked.

"Well," I said, "No one else uses that kind of grin—what exactly did you _do?_"

"Hahaha…" he laughed awkwardly, "No really!" he said, "Don't tell the others that you know! It'll ruin the plan!"

"What plan?" I asked my voice sharp. It was so weird talking to a 'middle aged' man with a beard and knowing it was Naruto.

"Uh…" he grabbed me and pulled me into the bathroom. "Look," he said, glancing around, "We are on a special mission. There's… a suspicious person among all the people at our waitresses tables, and we don't know who it is… so please be quiet!"

"O—ok!" I said, inside beaming at the chance of being involved with something so important, "My lips are sealed, and if I have any more information I'll tell you right away!"

"Good," Naruto looked really pleased with himself for a moment, then said, "Now, you should probably get out of here."

"Why?" I asked, and then I realized that I was in the men's bathroom. "Crap!" I said, and spun around and left, Naruto close behind me.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hahahaha!" I laughed uneasily as I sat down. Then I noticed that Sasuke was giving a look that was stranger than usual. "What's the matter?" I asked.

"You." Sasuke said, "Why are you going out with someone who's pretending to be me?"

I took a double take, "What are you talking about?"

"I was just walking by," Sasuke said, "on my way to training and I saw you here talking to 'me'. Don't you even know when it's an imposter of me?"

"W—well…" I said, "How do I know you're not an imposter?"

"Because," he said, "Because I know what happened that night in the Forest of Death…"

My eyes widened. It really _is_ Sasuke!"

"Well," the real Sasuke said, "I'm out of here, I have to finish my training. Don't expect to see _me_ anytime soon." He left.

I just stared. So if _he's_ the _real_ Sasuke, then that means that… the Sasuke I was on a date with earlier… must be the suspicious person Naruto was talking about!

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Ino sat down at her table.

"Where were you?" Shikamaru asked in a bored tone.

Ino smirked at Grace. Let's see what happens, she thought, when she thinks that the Sasuke she's going on a _date_ with is a fake! She sighed dreamily as the real Sasuke returned from office (he had to go—got a message from Kakashi). Although, she thought, she didn't expect Grace to make her prove that she was the real Sasuke. Regardless… Ino's eyes glinted, it was a success!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What the—" Naruto said, "Wasn't Sasuke just walking out of the building?"

"I… don't know," Sakura said, unsure of what to do or think.

At that moment a girl with brown pigtails waltzed into the room. It was as if Tenten used the sexy jutsu and then put some clothes on. She danced gaily over to where her team was and beamed down at them "Surprise!" She said, throwing her arms in the air.

"Tenten!" Lee exclaimed, "You're here!"

Neji's eye twitched. H stared at Tenten as if seeing a two headed monster. Apparently he was the only one at their table that realized that there was something _wrong_ with this Tenten.

"Oh my _God_!" Tenten squealed, sitting down in a flurry. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other with panicked looks. What was the worst was that _Grace_ noticed that her friend had appeared.

"Oh!" Grace called over, "Hey, Tenten! You psyched for tonight!"

Konohamaru, for it was him using sexy jutsu to imitate Tenten, narrowed his eyes. Let's just say he wasn't fond of the idea of not being able to leave his room tonight because Grace was having a 'Girl's night out'. In fact, he had kicked a storm up back last night over the fact that it was 'unfair' that he wasn't allowed to participate while Grace had to be present anytime _he_ had friends over. The response was… unpleasant. The real reason, Grace had, not far from the truth, told him was that he was a little pervert that just wanted to get a look at girls in their pajamas telling deep stories to each other about boys. Konohamaru grinned. Pay back time. "Oh yes!" he squealed very loudly, "I'm soooooo exited for our 'rendezvous' tonight! If you know what I mean hot stuff!" she winked suggestively.

Silence…

Grace's mouth fell open in stark astonishment. She clearly had no idea what to… "Uh—I…" she said, blinking.

It was all Sakura and Naruto could do from getting up and pummeling Konohamaru where he was, in Tenten's form or not.

It was most unfortunate that Team Guy's table was just getting their orders delivered. Tenten walked up to them, "Ok, so who ordered the mega spiced French—GWAH!" she shrieked, throwing the plates up in the air. The reason for said outburst was the scandalously clad Tenten sitting before, pouting her lips at Neji. According to Grace, Konohamaru was under the impression that Grace wanted the two together, so he complied.

"Wha—I… Oh my god so sorry, um, be right back!" she left in a hurry.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What the _hell" _I said finally, my mouth working. "Did she say what I _thought_ she said?!"

Sasuke's face was dark. "Is it true?" he asked.

"Wha—NO!" I exclaimed, "I have no idea what she's talking about!" I said, "No! No! No! Sasuke don't believe a word of it! I don't like girls! I like boys!" I realized that this was the imposter. This wasn't Sasuke… if he's spying on me, because why else would he target me… I shouldn't let him know anything about me! "I…" I said, feigning embarrassment, "I mean I trust you so… I _suppose_ I could tell you…"

Sasuke looked like he tasted some kind nasty tasting medicine, "What is it?" he asked.

"I mean…" I said, "The truth is that… I… have…" I racked my brains for the most random person, the first name that came to my mind... "I… I'm…I… I have a crush on _Naruto._" I said.

The couple next to me, including Tenten, whipped their heads toward me, horror on their faces. _Sasuke's_ face was priceless! He looked like a groom who just unveiled his bride to find that it's another woman or something. Ha! Got him! The sucker can't get the best of me! Haha! I sent an apologetic glance towards Naruto's way. I didn't mean to use his name; he was just on my mind when I said it. "Yes," I said, "In fact… I really kind of find the whole blond, blue eyes thing really attractive, also," I said… thinking of something random, he asked me on the date, so whoever is pretending to be Sasuke must some kind of pervert… Got to think of something really random…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

This is awful… Sakura thought. "Naruto," she whispered, "Grace _can't_ like you!"

"She doesn't," Naruto hissed, "She doesn't like me, she likes Sasuke."

Sakura froze, "How do you know?" a grin spread across her face, then she frowned, "Why would she tell you and not me?"

"She never told me," Naruto said, "But she cares so much for him that it's impossible for her to _not_ care about her."

"So why did she tell him that she likes you?"

Naruto froze. "Oh no…" he groaned, "She thinks _he's_ the imposter!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

This was truly the worst day for Sasuke. Without a doubt, his once glorious day was slowly spinning downwards into the dark pits of gloomy emoness. He picked at his food as Grace ranted on and on about 'how much she likes blond hair blue eyes 'Naruto'' kind of look. He glanced around, and then sighed.

"Huh?" Grace asked him, "What's the matter?"

Looking at him with those innocent dark eyes of hers, it was _almost_ impossible to feel gloomy anymore. And yet…

"Nothing." He said.

Grace looked at him hard and long.

"So…" she said, "What did you do today?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean…" She said, "What did you do before you came to my house?"

"Oh," he said, "I trained."

"Oh." She said. "Sasuke…" she said finally. "Can I tell you something?"

"What?" he asked.

"Well, it's more of a…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I had no idea how to ask this without it being inappropriate. Seriously. I knew that the only way to know if it is _really_ Sasuke is if the curse mark is there, because the imposter probably didn't know it was there. But how was I going to ask Sasuke to take off his shirt so I can see it? Seriously! "Um…" I mumbled. "Uh… You know, I'm not feeling too well, can we go soon?"

Sasuke looked surprised and even slightly disappointed, and I felt bad for ending it, but it was the only way.

"Sure." He said, and waved for the waitress to come over.

The waitress, Miu, I thought her name was, came over and said, in a overly cheery way, "Yes, how may I help you?"

"We'll have our check now," Sasuke said.

She looked extremely concerned for a moment and glanced at a sweat dropping couple near us and then smiled and left, assuring that she'd come as fast as she could with out check. I froze. There was something about the concept of 'us' that oddly… pleasing.

The check came and Sasuke paid for it, of course. Not that I would have, and he wouldn't have let me anyway. He's that sort of gentleman. Wait—this is the imposter… maybe that's why he's paying for it so willingly… I won't go into the details of past times when he's had to pay for things and didn't want to. Note that none of you have the permission to tell me that I was in no right to make him pay for all of those things.

We got up and left and as we exited the restaurant I peered over Sasuke's shoulder to see if I could see the curse mark, but… he looked at me with slight suspicion. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Uh—hahahaha!" I said, awkwardly skipping a step away from him, "Wow! You've really gotten tall Sasuke! You're nearly as tall as me now!"

He frowned, "And what's the big deal about that?"

"Well…" I said… "Uh…no reason really."

Giving me 'the look' he turned around and started walking to my house. I hurried to catch up with him. "Ok," I said, "I know this is a really awkward question but will you show me your curse mark?"

"_What?_" he asked, giving me an incredulous look.

I blushed slightly, "You know, the mark on you shoulder. I want to see it."

"Haven't you seen it already anyway?"

"No…maybe…probably—ok, yes, I have," I said, "But I want to see it again!"

He gave me 'the look' again and then pulled the neck of his shirt over so his neck and shoulder were exposed. Sure enough, there was the curse seal. But… I narrowed my eyes. What if it were fake? Paint? Ink? I walked over to him and licked my finger then began to rug the mark.

"Eh—Hey!" Sasuke said, his face turning red, "What are you doing?"

I gritted my teeth, "It's not coming off!" I said, rubbing harder.

"Check it out," a voice whispered a few meters behind me, "Grace is raping Sasuke."

There was silence as my hand separated from Sasuke's shoulders. Both Sasuke and I turned slowly in the direction of the two people behind us. The couple. Well, one person really. The wife had probably killed the husband. I narrowed my eyes. Naruto soooo didn't say what I thought he said.

"NARUTO!" I yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you! I was just making sure that he wasn't an imposter!"

"_Naruto_?" Sasuke said slowly.

Naruto and Sakura laughed uneasily as they turned back into themselves.

"The two of you…" Sasuke said, "Where spying on us?"

I stepped away from Sasuke. Oooh boy, Naruto's going to get it! Of course, Sakura won't be in trouble—sure, Sasuke might ignore her for a few weeks, but it's Naruto whose life I fear for.

"Ok, look," Naruto said, "It was for you own good…"

"Wait a second…" I said, "You were _spying on us!"_

"Late reaction," Sakura muttered.

"You told me you guys were on a mission!" I yelled. "And that Sasuke was an imposter!"

"An imposter?" Sasuke asked.

"That was a lie," Sakura said, "There was no imposter."

Then Sasuke asked, as the whole business was totally confusing him, "Imposter? Will somebody explain what's going on?"

"Oh," I said, "You see, I thought you were an imposter, which is why I was acting so stupid."

"You thought I was an imposter since the moment you saw me?" he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

I narrowed my eyes and aimed a punch at him which he dodged.

"No." I said. "Just…"

"So those things you said…" he said, suddenly turning somber. "Were they lies?"

"Huh? Oh yeah," I said, "No, I don't like Naruto, besides, I like dark haired guys better." I looked at a clock outside of a building, "Crap! Sakura, do you want to go to my house and help me set of for tonight?"

"Huh?" Sakura said, "Sure?"

"I could of sworn that Tenten was coming…" I muttered, Sakura laughed uneasily, looking guiltily behind her at the restaurant. "But I guess she can come later." I frowned. "Then who was it that told me that Sasuke—Oh ho ho ho ho…" I said, my laugh turning evil, "Ino is soooooo dead."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

HAHA! Tricked you! Not till next week! Sorry it took so much time for this chapter, I'm afraid that my computer's been acting up lately and I've been staying at my sister's house because my mom's been away and I lost the file that held this chapter, so I wasn't able to work on it till I found it again… not to mention I had to prepare for the PSAT's… sigh… Anyway, next chapter you can expect the same kind of 'none seriousness as this chapter. The characters are supposed to out of character because it's so 'not serious', so if Sasuke appears to be out of character it's just that "SASUKE IS REALLY HARD TO MAKE SILLY OR ACT AWKWARD!" because he's such a stoic character it strange and hard to make him embarrassed. Sigh…

Anyway, enjoy the next chapter: Coming October 31 2008

Oh, and I know it's a special chapter because of GNO, but tell me if I should spice things up and make things more interesting because, let's face it, it's Halloween coming up!

- fUnKyToEs


	25. The Thirteenth Hour

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Thirteenth Hour

WORDS: 5, 062

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto the show

WARNING: Might not make any sense… but it will in the future.

FORWORD: Uh… Happy Halloween? It's strange not having to apologize for it being late… although I do apologize for it being so late at night…

"Love doesn't make the world go 'round; love is what makes the ride worthwhile." – Franklin P. Jones

oOoOoOoOoOo

I sighed as I pushed the door to the kitchen open with my feet. Why? Because my hands were full. "Oh my god!" I exclaimed, "Ryuichi, what the _hell_ are you two doing?"

The two guilty culprits glanced at me innocently. They were completely covered in frosting. "Cooking?" Ryuichi suggested, as if unsure himself. I sighed again.

"You both are horrible cooks!" I said, "Why would you—what are you making?"

"We thought we would make a cake for you guys!" Konohamaru laughed uneasily.

"And were you intending it to be edible?" I asked apprehensively. They shrugged. I shook my head in despair. "You guys… Konohamaru, I'm still mad at you, and if this is a chance to make up, then it is definitely not going to work, kiddo."

Konohamaru laughed uneasily. Of course, it didn't take long for me to realize afterwards that he was in the form of Tenten during the 'breakfast deal' as we were starting to call it. The other girls explained what went on, and although I forgave them (because let's face it, I would have done the same) I doubt Naruto is getting off so easily. The girls he won't do anything too, that I'm sure, and he won't lay a finger on Konohamaru because, well, I'd kill him if he did… it's Naruto I'm worried about. I glanced at the clock, and since it's been six hours since breakfast… and no sign of Naruto… that's _bad_ news. For Naruto. Us girls were actually enjoying some time without him following us around. Four o'clock. Two more hours till Hinata and Temari comes… Don't ask how I managed to convince the Sound Kunoichi to come, but I did and that's all that matters.

"Grace!" A call echoed to my ears.

I blinked and dumped the dirty dishes I was carrying into the sink. "You guys better clean that up," I instructed strictly, "I'm going to have to start cooking soon and I'm not in the mood to deal with _your_ mess."

"Yes, _mom_." Ryuichi muttered, and then grinned as he and Konohamaru resumed squirting each other with frosting.

I scowled at them and as I was closing the door, said, "Just make sure it's all cleaned up." I shut the door before Ryuichi would respond and piss me off. I walked through the hall and then stretched into a sprint as I skidded into my room. "Back!" I sang.

Tenten and Sakura were sitting on my bed, arguing over some kind of cards… it's in Japanese so I really don't have a clue what they were doing… I don't even know how that got here… one of them must have brought it. I really got to learn Japanese… Ah, no time.

"What are you doing?" I asked them, hopping on the bed.

"Oh, it's just fortune tellers cards," Sakura explained, "I go them for my birthday last year, see the pictures?" She showed me a card with a princess (Japanese version) on it.

"Oh yeah," I said, peering at it, "So how does it work?"

"You just…" Tenten said, but was cut off by a knocking on the door.

"What's…oh great," I muttered, "I bet that's—"

I was right. "Grace!" Naruto shouted as he barged through the door.

"Naruto!" I said, "Did Sasuke do something to you?"

"Huh? Oh, no," he said, "I just came over to say…" his gaze shifted to take in the other girls in the room. "Oh…" he said, "You're busy…" he ran over and jumped onto the bed.

"Naruto!" I yelled.

"Don't forget," he whispered in Sakura's ear.

"I won't," She assured him.

He flashed me a grin and then was out the door. "What was that all about?" I asked.

"No clue," Tenten said, suspiciously uninterested.

"What didn't he want you do forget?" I asked Sakura.

"Nothin'," she said, flashing me a grin suspiciously similar to a grin Naruto uses when he's in trouble. Man, there are a bunch of suspicious children out and about today aren't there?

"So…" I said, "What do you guys want to do? I mean, it's two hours till the others come… we could start cooking… but that's kid of boring if you ask me."

"Totally," Tenten said, "How about we play a round?"

"Come on," I said, "You know what I think of that superstitious stuff, it's not like its _real_!"

"How do you know?" Sakura asked, giggling.

"_Yeah_, Grace!" Tenten said, "You won't know until you try it!"

"Does it actually work?" I asked, unconvinced.

They shrugged. "It's never not worked." Sakura said, "When they do it professionally. These cards? Probably not too accurate, but come on, let's try!"

I sighed. Why not? "Sure—"

"GRACE!" I nearly fell off the bed.

"What the—Konohamaru!" I yelled and dashed off the bed, rushing into the kitchen. There was Konohamaru, amidst… "What the hell happened here?" I exclaimed. The two guilty culprits looked at me, this time their innocent faces were tainted with mischeive and a hint of guilt. They were, standing in the kitchen. Well, the room they were in was the kitchen, what they were standing in, and what was floating around them, were bubbles…

"We tried to clean up," Konohamaru exclaimed, "But Ryuichi used too much bubbles."

"Have you _ever_ washed dishes before?" I asked the nearly thirty year old.

He gave me a credulous look, "It was all him!" he said, pointing at the kid next to him, "He was the one who used too much bubbles!"

"That's because you squirted me, so of course I had get back at him and sooner or later…" Konohamaru gestured at the bubble filled room.

I slammed a fist into my forehead, "Sometimes," I muttered, "I feel like I'm living with two eight year olds instead of one, and one of them has the maturity of a three year old."

"That's not very nice to say about Konohamaru," Ryuichi said.

"I was talking about _you._" I said sardonically.

"What's—oh my god!" Sakura said as she walked into the kitchen, what happened here?" she asked.

"I don't even want to know," Tenten said, appearing behind us. "Why not let them clean up?"

"They can't be trusted," Sakura said.

I nodded. "Ok, out you two." I said, and they, grinning as if winning a battle, dashed out.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Konohamaru and Ryuichi grinned at each other as they walked out of the kitchen. "That was too easy," Konohamaru said.

"Tell me about it," Ryuichi said, "You'll find that if women get it in their heads that men can't do anything and they'll just do everything for you… Trust me kid, that's the life."

"And what about when they realize that you can do stuff?"

Ryuichi paused. "Then you're screwed, kiddo."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"_God._" Sakura said as she tiptoed through the mess, "Men are so gross!"

"Tell me about it," I said, taking a mop and tossing one to Tenten, "Help me mop this up. I know," I said, "And I have to live with them. Not to mention Naruto practically lives at my house—did I tell you? The Hokage is actually thinking about letting him live here. And although I love Naruto and he's like a little brother to me I don't think I could stand twenty-four hours of him."

"Imagine what _I_ go through!" Sakura complained, "He's on my _team_."

"Hey," I said, "For this month, I have to be with him _non stop._"

"Ok," Tenten said, "None of you can even _compare _to me! I have Lee _and_ Neji on my team! _And _I'm forced to help Neji train!"

We laughed, "Ok," I said, "You win."

After the bubbles were all cleaned up (trust me, it took a _long_ time, it was almost like Ryuichi and Konohamaru wanted us to do something for all that time… couldn't they have though of something a bit more interesting?) and there was only half an hour left till people (meaning less than half of the total people) would start to arrive. I set to work cleaning the dishes.

"How do you do it?" Tenten sighed as she sank into a chair, trying to ignore the sticky sweet smelling soapy feel that coated everything. "I mean, seriously, how do you just… like have the energy to just _keep cleaning_?"

I shrugged, "I don't like cleaning all the time, and I'm usually pretty lazy about it, but when I do clean I go the extra ten miles. Seriously, I mean, if we didn't have people coming soon I'd probably clean the whole house."

"Really?" Sakura asked, sitting across the table. "I'm so jealous."

"Why?" I asked, "I mean you two are such good ninja! I wish I could be like that!"

"Yeah," Sakura said, "But I mean… You can do this and that… you know, stuff girls should know? You know? I just feel… like, I know that girls shouldn't just cook and clean, that's sexist, and that's why I'm a ninja, but I feel like I missed the boat somewhere, you know? Like… not being a girl is going to bite me in the butt when I want to settle down." She says 'you know' a lot…

"I know how you feel," Tenten said, "I mean, I _want_ to have kids when I grow up, but my knowledge of them doesn't go farther than how they're created. Grace, you are great with kids! You know all about them and they love you… I don't know anything about kids."

"Well," I said, "You guys have a lot of time to learn. I hope neither of you become mothers anytime soon."

They laughed, "Yeah," Sakura said, "Me too."

Finally, the last dish was done and I sat down, exhausted, next to them. "So…" I said, "Want to chat? I was thinking that we should just order food, since I don't even know how to cook with the ingredients I have."

"That sounds good." Sakura said.

"Great," I said, "We'll call in about five minutes, 'kay?" I looked at my hands, "So… you guys… Sakura," I said, "Do you still like Sasuke?"

Sakura and Tenten looked at each other, "Why do you ask?" Sakura asked.

"Well," I said, "You used to be obsessed about him." I said, "And I mean, I was just wondering if you're still obsessed."

"Well," Sakura said, "I still like him, but… I have to say that I… I feel like, as friends, we're getting closer, ever since you came, but 'liking' him? Not so much." She frowned, "I didn't really notice it at first, but other things became more important. Before, being a ninja was all about being closer to Sasuke… but now that I'm stronger, especially since I qualified for the Final Exam, I've put my training and work before him." She smiled, slightly sadly, "I sort of regret it, I feel like apart of me has been taken away, but I also like it, because now, I can focus on what truly matters."

I rested my chin on my folded hands, my elbows propelled on the table. I gazed at her for a moment, "I'm proud of you." I said.

She looked at me in surprised.

"I really am," I continued, "I think that… love can be a distraction. At the moment, myself, I have so many responsibilities, responsibilities that can determine life, death, and the happiness of thousands of people. At the moment, and even forever, falling in love is almost not even an option. When I came here…There were people I liked at first… but I've separated myself from feeling that way about them, because I don't want that distraction."

"Why not?" Tenten asked.

I frowned. "Because," I said, "I think it'll be pointless. The people I liked… they _might_ someday like me, but it won't be true. I'll only get hurt, and that's not a risk I'm about to take."

"And who—" Tenten was cut off by knocking.

"Are they here all ready?" Sakura asked.

"Apparently… crap, Tenten, Sakura! Order food, quickly! Have them deliver here, kay'? Money isn't a problem, the Hokage is paying."

"Does he know?" Tenten asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey," I said, "He's the best paid ninja in the village."

They shrugged. I dashed out of the room and ran towards the door. I reached it and pulled it open. There were two people waiting, just like I expected. One was an impatiently waiting blonde, with hair that was actually just a little lighter than my natural hair, when it isn't dyed purple. She had her hand on her hip. The other was a dark hair, light skinned pretty girl who was standing just a little ways away from the taller, older girl, obviously intimidated.

"Hi!" I said, "Thanks so much for coming! Come on in!"

I held the door open and they entered. "Nice place," Temari said.

"Thanks," I said. "The others are in the kitchen." They followed me into said room.

"Hi!" Sakura said.

"Hi, Hinata," Tenten said.

"Oh… hi, Tenten." Hinata said, shyly.

I grinned. I know that there is _something_ that we have to make Hinata do… and of course it's going to have to do with Naruto. "So," I said, "Sakura and Tenten just ordered food, so, do you guys want to eat first and then what? We can watch a movie, or how about we go to town while it's getting dark and then return her for tonight?"

"Sounds good to me," Temari said.

"S-Sure," Hinata said, almost a whisper.

"Great idea," Sakura said, "And I have an even better idea!"

"What?" I asked, apprehensively.

"How about we play dare in town? Like we dare each other to do things while we're there? It's funner than just truth or dare because there's only dare, and you have so much more you can make people do."

"I _love_ that idea!" Tenten said.

"Uh—ok…" Temari said, giving the two girls weird looks. I was too, by the way. These girls are so weird. Then again, this might be my chance… I glanced at Hinata.

"Actually," I said, "I like this idea."

Hinata looked like she was the only one who disagreed.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Um…" Hinata said, "W—who's going first?"

"Me!" Sakura said. She peered around. "Let's see… nah," she shook her head, "I don't see anyone interesting."

"What, you have someone in particular you want to have one of us do something embarrassing to?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You could say that," She said, smiling suspiciously cheerful and innocent. I shuddered. Why did I get the feeling that she had me in store for something nasty and mean? Like… something I would never do in a million years… Got… to…get…away….

I spotted someone I knew. I grinned evilly. "Hinata!" I yelled. She flinched in fear, giving me one of those 'please don't choose me!' looks. "I dare you… to go up to Naruto and put a 'Property of Hinata' sign on his back.

Her face turned deep crimson. "B—b—but…" She said.

"Come on," Temari said, "Are you a kunoichi or not? Go on! Don't back down from a dare or you aren't worthy of being a ninja."

"Eh, that's harsh, Temari," Tenten said.

Temari ignored her. "Do it." She said.

Hinata mumbled something to her and then looked around. "W—what do I write it with?" I

I grinned and happily jumped to her aid. "Here," I said, handing her a piece of paper.

"That's just mean," Sakura said as Hinata took the paper tentatively. "Ok… so…" she looked around and then handed Hinata a pen.

Hinata, her face crimson, took the pen and began, with a shaking hand wrote the words 'Property of Hinata' on the paper. I almost felt bad, but I knew that in the end Hinata would thank me for it. I know she will, seriously. She headed in the direction of Naruto, who was coincidentally standing next to Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba and… Neji? I couldn't tell whether it was Neji or a girl because his/her back was turned. As Hinata approached, he/she turned… and it was Neji. It's so weird how much he looks like a girl from the back. He gave her a cold look, then turned away and ignored her presence. I clenched my fist. Someday, I _will_ make him pay for what he did to Hinata. I've noticed how much quieter Hinata has been since her match with Neji. I've also noticed how it's harder for her to run around, not that we have, but you know what I mean.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So then she…huh?" Naruto turned to see Hinata approach him. "Uh… hey Hinata."

"Hinata, what are you doing here?" Kiba asked.

"Uh…um…" She peered behind her, but the girls who had forced her to do this humiliating act of embarrassment had disappeared. "Um…well…Naruto…um…well…"

"What?" Naruto asked, a concerned look on his face, "Is something the matter?"

"Um…"

"What's on that paper?" Shikamaru asked, faintly interested, after catching Naruto's name on it.

"Ah," Hinata's face turned a deeper red, "Nothing!"

"So why are you holding it so close?" Kiba asked.

"Uh…" She tried to slide behind Naruto without him noticing. The sad thing was that this was the only time that he actually noticed.

"Uh…" Naruto said, giving her a strange look, "What are you doing?"

"Um…" She whispered, "I just…" Her face now almost unrecognizable she reached out and gave Naruto a hug. Kiba's mouth fell open and even Neji turned around in surprise. Shikamaru just raised his eyebrow and then smirked. No surprise there, he thought, although the fact that she actually eventually did it _is_ surprising…he looked around, there must be stronger forces at work here… he narrowed his eyes, where are they?

A blush crept onto Naruto's face as Hinata quickly let go and ran off. "Wha…what was that all about?" He asked no one particular.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sakura and I were giggling in hysterics by the time Hinata returned to us. Her face red she collapsed onto the ground, exhausted from the mental effort. "Oh…my…_God…_" I said between gusts of laughter, "That was… the funniest thing I've ever seen!"

Hinata couldn't even speak out of humiliation.

"That _was_ kind of mean," Tenten said, "I mean, is there some reason why you would mortify her like that?"

"She likes Naruto," I said, manner-of-factly.

"Ooooh…" Tenten said, "And he doesn't know… that explains everything."

"How about I go again?" I asked, however at that moment, something happened. Not the best thing, for as I realized later, it was exactly what Sakura and Tenten wanted to happen.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hey," Sasuke said as he approached the others, "Sorry it took me so…" He trailed off. "Naruto," he said, "What's on your back?"

"Huh?" Naruto said, peering around and trying to figure out what was pasted to his back.

"Hey, Sasuke," Shikamaru said, "So you decided to show up after all, eh?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said. He went over and sat next to them. "So… what's up, guys?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Sasuke's with them!" I said, pointing.

Sakura and Tenten's eyes lit up. "You're right," she said, then she grinned, "Sakura, about it's your turn?"

"I think that's a wonderful idea!"

"Hey," I said, "How come you only wanted to when Sasuke was here—ah, you're going to dare someone to do something with Sasuke!" I said.

"Yup," Sakura said, "And I choose you!"

"Me?" I said, "Why?"

Temari's eyes furrowed as she apparently realized something I did not. I feel kind of out of the loop.

"That doesn't matter," Sakura said, "What's important is that he's here, and you're an option to torture."

"Gee, thanks," I said dryly, "You're really reassuring." I sighed, "What do you want me do—nothing with Sasuke?" I felt my heart clench and my stomach drop, "God, please don't make me do something licentious."

"What does that mean?" Tenten asked.

"Nothing," I said. "Ok, so what is it?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke and the others were talking about something when Sasuke looked up to see Grace approaching him. He paused in his sentence, looking at her in confusion. "What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

"Grace!" Naruto said in surprise, "What…oooh," he said, "I get it."

She glared at him. She sniffed, straightened her back, and then sighed, exasperated, her eyes flickering behind her to something the guys couldn't see. Her eyes turned to give Sasuke a long desperate look, as if wanting him to rescue her from something she _really_ didn't want to do. Her shoulders sagged and a slight blush appeared on her cheek. "I'm really sorry about this," she said.

She walked forward, and, with only a slight hesitation…

Reached out and tentatively grasped Kiba by the cheek and pulled him close to her, and then kissed his opposite cheek.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Do you really think that this is a good idea?" Tenten asked, "I mean… look!"

Sakura did, and low and behold, Sasuke's face had taken on a sickly grey color. His eyes were wide and stared in horror at the scene unfolding before him. _Of course_,Sakura thought, _it had to be this way. Sasuke… sure he's been giving Grace hints that he liked her, but Grace has been blind to them because she just can't imagine seeing Sasuke that way. He's needs to be more affront about it. He needs to be scared into taking action._

Grace smiled at Kiba, winked at him and then walked back to the girls, purposely avoiding Sasuke's eyes.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I wasn't mad. I was _furious._ How _dare_ they play around with me like that?!

"You know," Tenten said, "I thought you were supposed to kiss him on the lips?"

"Hey," I snapped, "Sakura didn't specify. Besides," I said, "I've never kissed a boy before, I'm saving it."

"Ooh," Tenten said, "_Traditional_ Grace!"

A blush crept on my face, "You know what?" I said, "One of these days I'll have a boyfriend that all the girls want, and he'll be all mine! So there!" I stomped off, heading to our house. Temari, smirking, followed, while Hinata followed, mumbling something about feeling sorry for Kiba.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Tenten said, "I wonder if she even realizes why she feels so horrible—and did you see how she avoided Sasuke? Almost like he was the plague. I bet she feels bad because of him."

"I wonder if she'll ever realize." Sakura sighed.

"She's not dumb, in fact, she's more intellectual than any of us about things like love and stuff, " Tenten said, her eyes furrowing as she watched the receding back of Grace. "I just want to know why she's pretending to be so ignorant of everything."

oOoOoOoOoOoO

I walked into the living room to find that all the food we ordered was hot and waiting for us in there. That's strange, I looked around, Ryuichi must have done this… but where is he? Not that I'm complaining. Temari walked in behind me, "Wow, that's a lot of food," she said.

"Tell me about it," I said, then I jumped onto one of the couches, "Let's decide what movie to watch!"

"Ok!" Sakura said, "I say we should watch…"

By the end of the movie, we all had different reactions. I, of course, was teary eyed because of the sad romance. Hinata was sniffling but mainly too embarrassed by the inappropriate parts of the movie to have a real reaction, Sakura was also choking up as well, and Tenten was frowning for some reason and then started having a discussion with Temari about how sexist the movie was towards women. God, I always forget what feminist they were. Not that I'm not, I'm just willing to cry during a really good movie.

"What do you want to do now?" I asked, stuffing my face with some kind of thing that reminded me of… those vegetable wrap things… I really don't know. All I know is that it tastes good. Kissing Kiba was still bothering. Not that I kissed him, because I actually think he's kind of hot (especially in Shippuden)… but it was more… like… why do I feel guilty?

"Let's tell each other's fortune!" Tenten said.

"That' a great idea!" Sakura said.

"Oh great," I muttered. "Not this again."

"Come on," Sakura said, "You didn't even get to do it before."

"Whatever," I said, "I don't want to go first."

"Sakura and I already told each other our fortunes, so I guess we'll go last unless there isn't time." She grinned evilly at us, "Who wants to go first?"

I certainly wasn't going to volunteer myself, and thankfully Temari scooted closer (by now we were all on my because it was easier to play cards on because it was the only furniture big enough), "I'll go first." She said.

I was more thankful to her than anyone could know. I realized soon after Sasuke appeared that both Tenten and Sakura had set their goals to torturing me.

"Ok," Tenten said as she Sakura began shuffling their cards, and then she picked ten and spread them out in a flourished manner. "Let's see… you become very powerful… hm… what do you want to know?"

"I don't care." Temari said.

"Romance," I said, interested.

Temari gave me a 'what the hell?' look but I ignored her. Here's my test to know if it's for real or not.

"Hm…" Tenten studied the cards and then took out a handbook and flipped thought he pages. God, they have a _handbook_? "Let's see… you will soon fall in love… but the guy you fall in love with… that's strange," she looked at the cards again, then back at the handbook, "That's so strange!" she said, "The description of your future lover fits Shikamaru perfectly!"

A lump appeared in my throat. So…… it is true.

"Shikamaru?" Temari asked. "That's not the lazy freak I have to fight in the Final Exam, is it?"

"Sure is…" Sakura said, peering over Tenten's shoulder and looking at the book, "You know, these cards don't lie…"

"I just…" Temari couldn't quite know what to say.

"Well," I said, "My time!"

"I'll do Grace," Sakura said.

"Ok." Tenten said, handing Sakura the cards and the handbook. "Ok, so…"

"All right!" Sakura shuffled the cards, very well. She then picked twenty cards and laid them out on the bed. She studied them for a while and then looked at the handbook. "Well, according to this, you will have a very… intricate and complicated love life, and it will cause you great pain…" she paused for a moment, "You won't know till it's too late whom you love… You'll have great power, but it will be for the wrong reasons… your meaning in life becomes twisted and sad, and your perception of the world because clouded with…" she didn't finish her sentence. She just stared at the cards. "There must be something wrong with this." She reshuffled the cards and picked ten, laying them out in front of her. Her eyes furrowed. She shuffled them again.

I swallowed. I didn't like what she was saying. "What is it?" I asked, "Just say it!"

"You…" Sakura looked up at me, "Grace, you're going to…."

"What?" I asked.

She frowned. "I can't really read it right… This card… I can't find the meaning in the book correlating with the other cards. It's all too confusing, conflicting. It's like you'll be living two lives… but that's impossible. One will be happy and will end in sadness and despair and… love, and the other… is filled with hate and revenge… and how it ends I can't figure out." She frowned, "One thing I know, is that it says that on the thirteenth hour, your first life will end."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hinata and Temari both had to be home before one in the morning, because… well, you get it. The only ones here were Tenten and Sakura. We were sitting in the dining room. Sakura was gloomily picking at the cards. "These cards must be defective. It's impossible for this to be true, I mean seriously." She frowned, "I can't believe I wanted these so badly! They don't even work!"

I frowned. "Do you… think it might be true?"

"Of course not," Tenten said, "It's impossible, and I mean, they're just playing cards, I saw them on sale at the market place in town, they're probably just for kids at a slumber party just like we had.

I sighed. But Sakura was right, or I was, because they were just some cheap kid's cards, nothing to be worried about.

"Oh yeah, remember when we were talking before? About how you didn't want to fall in love with the people you liked, because you didn't want to get hurt?"

"Yeah?" I asked, "What about it?"

"Who is it?" Sakura asked, intrigued. "Who did you like?"

I frowned, "Do you really want to know?"

They nodded.

"Well," I said, looking up at the ceiling, "I guess I liked quite a few people." I said, "I liked Kiba, I liked Gaara, I liked Neji…And I liked Sasuke."

They looked at each other. "You liked Sasuke?" Sakura asked, starting to smile.

"Yup," I said, "I had a major crush on him, and I mean, I thought he was an asshole, which he is, but still…I'd be lying if I said he wasn't hot."

"And now?" Tenten asked, "Do you still have a crush on him?"

I pressed my lips together. "Do you remember what I said earlier?"

"About being hurt?" Tenten asked a frowned or worry spreading on her face, "And that's why you won't let yourself fall in love?"

"Yup," I said, "You see, I was referring to Sasuke when I said that. Sasuke is the one person I'll never let myself love."

Because of the thirteenth hour…

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Why love if losing hurts so much? We love to know that we are not alone." - C.S. Lewis:

AFTERWORD: Thanks for reading! I hope you all had a good Halloween! I want to apologize for this chapter not being too 'spooky' or Halloweeny, but I just couldn't fit it in without the chapter being 10,000 words long, so I cut it out. Also… stay tuned for November 4th, because I'm posting an extra chapter then for Kibafangirl11's birthday. And it has to do with a certain characters birthday… I think you guys will like it. I don't think there will be much more filler chapters. Including the bonus chapter, there will probably be about two more filler chapters, and then it will continue with the plot chapters.

Thanks for reading!

- fUnKyToEs


	26. Birthday Bonus Chapter

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: Birthday Bonus Chapter

WORDS: 2004

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything *weeps*

WARNING: fluff???

BLAH:

Well, this chapter is for Kibafangirl11's birthday!!! Today!!! Happy birthday!! To you and your twin!!! I wish it were _my_ birthday… Anyway! I put in as much fluff as I could so that it would be funny! Enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke was sitting on his bed, reading, when he heard a knock from below. He raised his eyes from his book and glanced out the window, although that wouldn't help him see who it was at his door. Getting up, he put his book on the side table and walked downstairs. He reached the door and opened it, only to look up at a beaming face. "Wha… What are you doing here, Grace?" he asked.

She gave him an incredulous look, "Come _on,_" She said, "It's your birthday! Of course I had to come over!" She pushed past him into his house, dragging the huge basket of whatever it was she brought with her. _I should have known_, he thought.

She deposited quite a bit of food on the counter in his kitchen, and then took out a few presents and a movie. "Eh," he said, "Grace, what are you doing?"

"I'm setting up your birthday party," She said. He just stared at her. Of course, he was staring at her because she was unpacking an entire house in his own, and making herself completely at home, but also… he couldn't help but think how cute she was in that dress…. _She doesn't wear dresses that often,_ he thought. This one was green, and was _short_. She was wearing black heeled boots that reached her knees. He sighed. Did she wear this on purpose?

"Don't those hurt?" he asked her, pointing at the boots.

"Huh?" she looked down, "Oh, not really. Tenten and Sakura picked them out…" She looked up at the ceiling, "They _said_ I should wear them tonight, but I don't know why…"

_Those girls…_ Sasuke thought.

"Right…" she said, "So I went to the market with Konohamaru and Ryuichi and they helped me shop…. But I have _no_ idea what it is I bought…." She lifted a jar and peered inside.

"What did you bring it all for?" he asked her.

"To cook, of course!" she said, "I'm going to make you a breakfast dinner!"

Sasuke blinked, "Grace, do you even know how to cook?"

She turned to glare at him from her position on the floor. She was trying to look for a pan. "Of course I know how to cook!" she said.

"Well," he said, "Do you know how to cook with _these_ ingredients?"

She halted, half getting up from the floor, half on the floor. She was just frozen there, and Sasuke could see her brain working out the details of the new data he just presented to her. She sat down hard and sighed. "I knew it," she said.

"Then why did you buy it all?" Sasuke asked her, annoyance clear on his face.

"Well…" she said, turning to look up at him. "I just wanted to make you a dinner!"

He sighed. "You can make me a dinner, but it looks like I'll have to help you."

She blinked. "You can cook?" she asked.

"Of course," he said, insulted, "I've lived by myself for years. You don't think I know how to cook? I'm not _Naruto._"

"That's true," she said, she looked around, "You're right, you have a lot of cooking materials here…. Wait," she looked at him with growing excitement, and a hint of mischievousness, "Don't tell me you cook for a hobby!"

Sasuke's face reddened, "No!" he said, "I just know how to cook!"

She frowned, disappointed, "Oh. That would have been cool!"

He narrowed his eyes at her, "You're the queen of misdirection." He said.

She looked at him like he was crazy, and he knew that she didn't catch on. He sighed, "But why did you buy so much food?" his eyebrows furrowed. "If you ask me, this is a waste." He thought of her shopping partners. _That explains everything…_ he thought. "Ok, what do you want to make?"

"I have _no_ idea." She said, jumping up and standing next to him.

"Then—oh forget it," he muttered. "Fine, let's start with this…" took a few vegetables and began instructing her how to cut it _without_ cutting herself.

"I know how to cut—_shit_!" she hissed as the knife sliced the skin of her index finger. "Damn it!" she said, "I didn't realize how easy it was to cut yourself with these knives!"

"That's why I told you to be careful!" he said.

She stuck her finger in his mouth, saying, "It's your fault so shut up!"

He glared at her and grabbed her hand, taking her finger out of his mouth and sticking it in hers. "Do you have to do that?" he asked, "I'll get you a bandage."

She grinned as she sucked on her finger and he left to go to a medicine cabinet. "You know," she said when he returned and began to wrap her finger with a small band-aid like bandage; "We practically just kissed."

He paused in his wrapping. His face reddened in anger.

"Just kidding!" she laughed with extreme amusement. "God, you're so gullible!"

"_I'm_—just shut up," he muttered as he turned and continued teaching Grace how to cook. It wasn't hard, he realized. She was an amazing cook; she just didn't know what the ingredients were that he knew how to use. She would mention something every once in a while that he didn't know, too.

"Ok!" she said, lifting the rice, "How's this?"

"It's good," he said.

"It's really funny seeing you in an apron!" she giggled.

His face reddened in embarrassment. "You…" he said through clenched teeth, "Were the one who insisted I wear this!"

"Wow," she said, "You have anger problems!" she tisked her tongue. "Hey, I brought… oh, I left it at home… Never mind. I bought chocolate," she explained.

"I don't like sweets." He said shortly.

"I _know,_" She said, "It was for me!" she frowned, "You know, Sasuke? You really need to sometime get over that—I mean, are you even _human_?"

He didn't respond. He couldn't. In order to he had to look at her again. Let's just say that her wearing an apron, with that short summer dress and those boots… Not to mention she would insist that she dance while waiting for stuff to cook… he sighed. She just doesn't understand how cute she is when she's like that.

"What's the matter?" Grace asked, peeking at his face.

"Nothing." He said.

They sat down at the table with all the food that Grace insisted they cooked. Sasuke suggested they make food for two people, but no, Grace wanted to use _all_ the ingredients she bought. She said she didn't want to waste them—talk about a hypocrite. "This is really good!" she said. "You are an amazing cook!" she then smiled, "You've just got everything going for you, don't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," She said, "I mean… how do I put this… You're basically the perfect guy."

He blinked. Was she… implying that…

"I mean, you're really good at cooking, you are amazing at keeping things clean, and you're pretty wealthy, good looking, talented, smart, cool… and you have your own fan club —let's face it, you're a girl's dream guy!"

He sighed, "If you're going to go on that 'you'll never be a good father' rampant then can we just skip to dessert?"

She sighed, "I hope you didn't take offense to that. You're just such an introvert; I personally can't imagine you even wanting to be a father. You just seem to be the kind of guy who would see kids as being a nuisance and in the way." She blushed, "Ah, sorry, _that_ was probably pretty insulting…"

He scowled and then just sighed, "That's ok." He said.

"If it makes you feel better," she said, "I think you'd make a wonderful father if you were one—I just hope it's not anytime soon." She grinned, "I mean if I were a few years younger, _I'd_ probably like you!" then she frowned, "Age is so weird… I mean, right now, you seem so young to me, but in ten years, that age difference will be nothing…"

"Are you ok?" he asked, "You're usually not this sentimental." However, he would be lying if he didn't say what she said was both pleasing and disturbing. It pleased him because, at least it appeared this way, it seemed like she was admitting to liking him, except for the age, and that in time the age wouldn't matter… then why, he thought, does she sound so sad about it? Better not linger on the subject.

"So," she said, brightening, "How does it feel to be fourteen?"

"No different." He said blandly. "I mean, I'm only a day older than yesterday, there's no reason for me to feel different."

She stared at him, "You're no fun at all," she said.

He sighed.

"Well," She said, "Now that we're done eating… let's watch the movie!"

"You brought a movie?" he asked.

"Yup!" she said, grinning, "So let's go!"

"Where?" he asked.

"You're room, obviously." She said. "That _is_ where the TV is."

"How—oh that's right," he said.

"Well," she said, "If it makes you feel better, someday I'll show you my room."

He smirked, "I've already seen it." He said.

She stared and then narrowed her eyes, "That's right… you must have gone through my room in order to switch the shampoos… that dyed my hair… I will never forgive you, you creep!"

"_I'm_ the creep?" He asked, "You went into _my_ room first."

"But you weren't sleeping in it at the time!" she said.

He shrugged. "Fine, are we going or not?"

"Coming," she said, "First let's clean up."

"I'll clean up later," he said.

She beamed at him, "Thanks." She dashed up the stairs. He sighed as he watched her go. That girl…

When he opened the door to his room she had already put the DVD in and was jumping on his bed. "What are you doing?" he asked.

She stopped jumping, "Didn't you ever jump on the bed when you were a kid and not emo?" she asked.

He made a face, "I'm not emo, we've already been through this."

"Yes you are!" she sang as she continued jumping.

His eyebrows twitched. "Will you stop that!?" he asked, "It's really annoying!"

She jumped one last jump and then landed on her butt, leaning back. "Come on!" she said, "I want to watch the movie! It's already quarter of eight because _someone_ took so long cooking!"

He scowled as he climbed onto the bed and lay next to her. "What's the movie?"

"I have no idea." She said, "Sakura picked it out for me."

Sasuke shook his head; _those girls… are almost scary._

"But I _do _know it's a romance." She said. Pressing play on the remote.

"Why did you get a romance?" he asked her.

"Why not?" She asked, "I love romances!"

"It's _my_ birthday." He muttered.

"It has people killing each other in it, and themselves, so you'll enjoy it."

"I'm not emo." He said again, but it was pointless because she was already absorbed in the movie. "Right, you're not listening." He sighed. He began to watch the movie, and, by half way, he actually began to enjoy himself. Not particularly the movie itself, but the fact that minute by minute Grace had drifted and leaned closer and closer to him. Not by purpose, he knew, she didn't mean to by leaning against his shoulder, she was just tired. Tentatively, and a little hesitant, he put his arm around her shoulder. "I'm glad you're here." He said, "For my birthday."

He looked down at her and blinked.

Her mouth moved slightly, but her eyes were closed.

He smiled. The girl fell asleep. "You fell asleep." He said.

Her mouth moved again and she shifted, her eyes fluttering, "I'm…not….asleep…."

"You're almost asleep." He said.

She grinned, "Sasuke…" she said, and "You're my best friend." Her face relaxed as she fell completely asleep.

He smiled, "You're my best friend too."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

AFTERWORD:

Well, there's the end of the bonus chapter!

Hope you enjoyed it!

And happy birthday to Kibafangirl11!!!

- fUnKyToEs


	27. The Chuunin Exams: Part XI

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Chuunin Exams: Part XI

WORDS: 4, 423 words

DISCLAIMER: I don't own it.

WARNING: None.

FOREWORD: Well, I'm apologizing for this being a day late, but writing a bonus chapter set me back a day. Regardless, I'll still be writing the next chapter for Friday. Well, I hope you like this chapter… ^__^

"There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved." – George Sand

oOoOoOoOoOo

I woke up late. It sort of pisses me off when Ryuichi and Konohamaru turn off my alarm clock…. Seriously! I feel like I'm living with a bunch of kids! And the Hokage doesn't help either… he's just as immature as the rest of them. I frowned. Not even half a week till the Final Exams took place. I was worried, because I didn't feel like I was ready yet, I mean, there's so much to prepare for!

And Naruto… I bit my lip. He had advanced _so_ far. Much farther than I imagined. I supposed Orochomaru never attacking him and putting that seal on him really made a difference. Only a week ago…

"_This is ridiculous!" Naruto shouted, "I can't believe I keep having the same problem over and over again! Come on Pervy Sage, do something! Teach me!"_

_I sat, cross legged, my eyebrows twitching, eyes closed. I was trying to concentrate on my chakra control, but Naruto constantly shouting at the Pervert Sage was getting annoying. Not that I blamed him, and I really don't have a right to talk, since Jiraiya always comes to me when I call for him—I know the reason, and I'd rather him ignore me, believe me. I sighed, exasperated and punched the ground, causing a dent, "Pervert!" I yelled, "Just help him God damn it!"_

_  
Jiraiya flinched. He got up, grudgingly and looked at me, then the indent I caused the ground in front of me. "Well," he said, "At least you're mastering chakra control."_

_  
I grinned. I was true. I wasn't that good, in fact, I'd probably not even be able to graduate from the first grade of the Ninja Academy, but in less then three weeks I learned how to search within myself and find my chakra, then focus and channel what little I had and use it. I could already make a clone, but it only lasted a few minutes before it poofed out. Regardless, I was making progress. Lately, meaning the past few days, I've just been meditating my chakra. Whatever the Pervy Sage did to me a month ago with my chakra, it made it hard to find it. It was almost like he made it completely disappear. I had to seriously meditate to find it, which is why Jiraiya suggested that I reframe from battle or fighting, because I wouldn't be able to do anything, let alone have the time to find and use what little bit of chakra I have. Seriously, didn't the Pervy Sage say I had a lot?????? I sighed. I looked at the ground. To practice, the Pervert told me to channel he chakra I found into my fists, and then punch the ground. The bigger the impact I have on the ground the more chakra I found and focused into my hand, and therefore the more I improved. I was getting better. I grinned; I'll turn out like a mini Tsunade at this rate. I then frowned, just without the boobs, please God. Not that I have anything against big boobs, Tsunade's is just a little too much. Plus, they're impractical for being a ninja. I frowned, but still… I looked down at my own pretty flat chest… I wish they were a little bigger… _

"_Grace?" Naruto's head appeared in front of mine, "Whacha' thinkin' 'bout?"_

"_Don't scare me like that!" I said, "Aren't you supposed to be training with sensei?"_

_  
He shrugged, trying to hide his irritation, "He noticed that some of their friends came, so he decided gathering 'information' was more important." _

_I sighed. "So, how's it going for you?" I asked._

_He sat down in front of me, "I've not really gotten better," he said, "What were you thinking about?"_

"_Just how my boobs are too small." I said, totally unbashful. _

_Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Well," he said, "They're not that small."_

"_I know," I said, "They're a C cup, but still, they look really small."_

"_Well," Naruto said, "I doubt… has a problem with them."_

"_Who?" I asked, not catching the name Naruto had said."_

"_Nothing," he said. "Right, I'm going to go get sensei and make him help me." He waved and ran off in the direction of the Pervert. I wonder who he was talking about. I felt a blush appear on my face. Is there someone who likes me? Who? Unless… I laughed out loud. "Nah," I said, "That's impossible…" then I frowned, "But if it's true that would be problematic…" _

"_Grace!" Naruto shouted from across the clearing, "Watch! Watch!"_

"_You haven't done anything idiot!" Jiraiya yelled at the boy, angry. Most likely Naruto somehow scared off all the girls on purpose or something… I grinned. The Pervert got what he deserved. I closed my eyes, focusing on my chakra._

_It was a dark hole, or more like dark abyss. I searched for a speck of light. There! I found it. I followed the light till it got stronger and bigger, but it kept flickering in and out of existence. This, Jiriaya told me, was my chakra. Normally, it's easier for ninja to find their chakra, because theirs is more present, but since mine is not only weak, unexercised, I also have a very low amount accessible to me. I kept focusing on the chakra till it grew enough that I was able to, metaphorically speaking, grab it and focus it into my physical body. I channeled it as well as I could through my back, shoulder, arm and finally hand. Most of it leaked out and only a small amount actually reached my hand, and the little that was there spilled right out because I've still not quite mastered keeping it in my hand. I, my hand still closed, curled my hand into a fist and then rammed it into the ground. I opened my eyes, happy to see a small crater in the ground, big enough for me to sit in. It wasn't as big as Sakura's when she got older, but then again, I just started. Jiraiya was quite impressed at my speedy improvement. He said it had to do with my chakra, but I didn't understand all that, because, if I have so much, and if it is so powerful… how come I suck at this so badly????????!!!!!????_

_I sighed, rubbing my knuckles. They developed thick calluses and were bruised black and were bleeding from the constant contact with the ground. I need to get gloves. I put as many knuckles as I could in my mouth, sucking on them to relieve the pain. _

_My body jerked as I heard a scream and I flinched with my teeth bit down on my knuckles. I shot to my feet and dashed over to where Jiraiya was, "What the hell's going on?" I yelled, looking wildly for Naruto. "Oh… no…" I ran over to the ledge, "Jiraiya, you didn't!" I watched as a small orange dot disappeared into the void, "NARUTO!" I screamed. Jiraiya caught me by the arm._

"_Don't go after him!" he yelled, "You'll only kill yourself!"_

"_You bastard!" I yelled, "He's going to die!"_

_He didn't respond, "This is a battle for him," he said, "He wants to get stronger, and this is the only way."_

_My breathing quickened as I fought for air. I looked over the ledge down, biting my lip as tears began to roll down my cheeks, "But what if he doesn't make it?" I asked. Jiraiya didn't let go of me, knowing if he did I'd probably just fall in. "If Naruto dies, I'll never forgive you."_

"_I know." _

I put a hand on my chest. My heart still hurts from that moment. Even though he was fine, and I knew he would be, the idea of Naruto even _almost_ dying was too much for me. I wanted to die instead. I narrowed my eyes. I have to get stronger. There are so many people I want to protect, and I'm still too week. That was over two weeks ago, and although I've progressed much, and so has Naruto for that matter, for he has advanced much in that time, and was now stronger than he was during the original plot line.

Thought, I thought as I continued getting dressed, I doubt he'll become a Chuunin. He doesn't understand what it means. Sure, he has skills, and I'm sure now more than ever he'll be able to defeat Neji, but he's… not Chuunin material. Neither is Neji. Temari won't probably this time, Shikamaru… I have no doubt he'll become a Chuunin. Shino… maybe, and I doubt Kankuro will…Kiba…. Nah. Sakura? I paused in putting on my shirt. Sakura….

I'm not sure about her. Especially now, training under Anko… she's most likely become much stronger. I have no doubt that she has the skills to be a Chuunin… but she's lacking the confidence. A strange thought came to me. What if the people who didn't become Chuunin originally became ones now? How would that change things? I know Gaara won't be able to become a Chuunin… and Sasuke?

I took off the shirt I put on and chose a different one. I hope Sasuke doesn't become a Chuunin. I wasn't sure why, but for some reason, I didn't want him to advance. I didn't want him to be stronger. But… I didn't want him to _want_ to be stronger. My heart skipped a beat again and I laid my hand across it again. _Sasuke…_

Finished getting dressed, I walked over to the mirror and played around with my hair, then, giving up, I whipped it into a very short pony tail and clipped the stray hairs with a barrette. I sighed at my ragged appearance. Time to see Naruto.

I walked out the door, waving goodbye to Konohamaru as he walked to school. I watched him go. I wonder… I thought. Will he hate me when the time comes? Will they all hate me? Me, who is too afraid to say anything? Too afraid to act?

What would life be here if the Hokage died? If Konohamaru hated me because I knew and could do something about it? What if Ryuichi dies protecting me? What if Naruto gets captured by the Akatsuki? What if… what if Sasuke really leaves? I tried not to think about it, but it still haunts me. I know… somewhere, I know, and that I won't succeed. It doesn't make a difference. Sasuke is an avenger. I know… even if he kills his brother, he won't be satisfied till he's killed… until there is no one to blame. No people in the world who he can put his anger and frustration on.

Will I be able to act then? To protect those I love? Will I be able to make the right choice?

I stuffed my hands in my pockets, kicking at the dirt. "This is stupid." I muttered, "Why am I thinking about these things?" I put on a smile. That's what I'm known for. My smile widened. I have to keep smiling. I have to pretend everything's ok. I can't let people know that only sadness is coming.

Because then I might even start to believe it.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Naruto?" I asked, peeking my head through the door. "Huh? Shikamaru? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Hey…" he said, "Um… Grace…?"

I frowned, "Don't tell me you forgot my name already." I said.

"Jah," he muttered, leaning back in his chair, his hands behind his head, "Can you blame me? You girls are so troublesome…"

I made a face as I sat on the chair on the other side of Naruto, "Come on," I said, "I'm not troublesome like Sakura or Ino, at least."

"Well," he said, chuckling, "I guess you're right. But, you're more troublesome then all of them put together."

"You don't even know me!" I raised an eyebrow, "How can you even say that?"

"Come on," he said, "Haven't you noticed it yet? Or do you enjoy playing with guys?"

A blush appeared on my cheeks, "What are you talking about?"

He sighed, "This is what I'm talking about… The other night, when you kissed Kiba…"

"That," I said, pointing, "Was not my fault."

"It doesn't matter," Shikamaru said, "You still made him… well… let's just say you did more than just play with Kiba's feelings…"

My eyebrows furrowed, "If you're suggesting that—"

"Hn…" Naruto moaned, opening one eye, "Grace…Shikamaru…?"

"Hey," Shikamaru said, smirking at the delusional boy, "You're finally awake, I see."

"Where am I?" Naruto asked

"The hospital," Shikamaru said, "They say you've been asleep for three days."

"Huh?" Naruto exclaimed, "Three days?"

"It was that last training exercise," I said, "To help strengthen your chakra control, you got a little out of hand and it sort of backfired on you."

Naruto scowled, "Well, that's stupid." Then he looked at Shikamaru, "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"He came here to see Choji, and heard you were here." I explained without thinking, "Choji ate too much at a restaurant."

They stared at me. "What?" I asked, "Oh, I… uh… heard from the nurse."

"_Right…_" Shikamaru said, disbelievingly, "Here," he lifted a basket of fruit off the floor and onto the bed, "I went through all the trouble of getting this for Choji and they say he can't have it! The nerve of those nurses… anyway, you might as well dig in. Grace?" I shook my head.

Naruto began to giggle. "We should eat it in front of Choji!" He snickered.

"_Man _that's mean—I like it!" Shikamaru said, smirking.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"You two should be arrested for mental abuse," I said as I followed the mischievous pair through the hospital halls.

"And yet, you're following us," Shikamaru said, turning to look at me midst walking.

I shrugged, "I guess because deep down I get satisfaction out this sort of thing."

"Deep down?" Naruto asked, "Grace, you love this stuff!"

I scowled at him. My eyes widening. I halted abruptly.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, "Grace, is there something wrong?"

"This… is Lee's room isn't it?" I asked, looking at the door next to me.

"Huh?" Naruto and Shikamaru walked over to me, "Maybe, why?"

I noticed that the door was ajar. I pushed it open and then put a hand over my mouth as I back up.

"What the hell?!" Naruto shouted as he dashed in, Shikamaru followed closely. I didn't see what was in it, only the shadow of sand on the wall. I dashed away from the room, and down the hall.

I got to find someone. I saw a man walking towards me in the hall, a few halls down, "Gai-sensei!" I yelled.

He looked up in surprise, and then a smile spread across his face, "Grace! How are you—"

"Lee is getting attacked by Gaara!" I yelled.

His eyes widened and he disappeared in a flash. I put my hands on my knees, supporting myself as I breathed hard. I then proceeded on returning as fast as I could. When I approached the room, I halted.

With slow, shaking steps, Gaara of the Sand passed me. He clutched his forehead as if having a headache. He didn't look at me. I didn't look at him.

"You too." He said, breathing hard. I froze, not looking at anything but ahead of me as he walked down the hall and was gone. I could _feel_ the blood lust in the air, and he wasn't even here! I put a hand over my throat, as if something was choking me, and backed into the wall, sliding down it to a sitting position.

"Grace?" Naruto rushed out, his eyes wide with worry, "Did he hurt you?"

I shook my head, unable to speak. I swallowed. "No. Is Lee ok?" I asked.

"He's fine," Gai-sensei said, "Thank you for coming for me."

I shrugged, "Gai-sensei," I said, "Why is Lee in the hospital? I thought he was out of the hospital the other day?"

"That was before he had a temporary surgery." Gai-sensei explained, "He was in a wheel chair, if you don't remember."

I nodded, "That makes sense." I held out my hand and Naruto took it, helping me up. "Right," I said, "Well, I came here to pick Naruto up," then I frowned. "Of course," I said, "You need to rest, no more training."

"WHA—What are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"You need to relax," I said, "It's only three days until the Chuunin exams, ok? Getting all tight and worried won't do you any good." I smiled, "Besides, I won't be around to keep an eye on you."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

I scowled, "For some reason, the Hokage wants me to present with him when then Kazekage comes…"

Shikamaru's eyes widened, "That's quite an honor." He said.

"I guess that's what happens when you're practically adopted into the Hokage's family." I said.

"_You're_ the Hokage's granddaughter?" Shikamaru asked, incredulously.

"Not officially," I said, "I mean, we've talked about him adopting me, but it's sort of hard to do…"

"Why?" Shikamaru asked.

It was hard to explain… because technically I don't exist in this world…

Naruto laughed, "Did you know? After the exams I'm going to go live with the Hokage!"

Shikamaru's eyes widened and he grinned, "You too? Man, Naruto! You'll be living the life!" they walked off, chatting. I turned and saw that Gai-sensei had disappeared as well.

I watched Naruto leave. It was true, the Hokage, like he did with me, was unofficially adopting Naruto. I smiled. It's probably because Naruto spends so much time at out house that it's practically become his as well. Then my face fell. Of course, this will only happen if…

The Hokage is _alive_ after the Chuunin Exams.

oOoOoOoOoOo

I stood with the Hokage, in my best dress, on the top of the Ninja Headquarters. I never bothered to find out the real name, but people always know what I'm talking about whenever I call it that. There was a procession coming down the streets. The Kazekage.

"Are you sure it's Orochomaru?" The Hokage asked me.

"Yes." I said, "Well, it might not be, so I'd be careful. Don't act like anything's wrong, because then we won't be in control."

"I understand," The Hokage laughed. He looked at me through the corner of his eye, "Don't worry," he said, "Nothing will happen to you."

I smiled, not reassured, "I still can't help but worry, Lord Hokage."

For today, the day of the Final Exam, I had adapted my speech to formal, as Ryuichi had instructed me to do so. Today, I'm not just some kid who wondered into this world and can afford to make a total idiot of herself. I'm the almost adopted daughter of the Hokage, and a representative of the Leaf Village.

Ryuichi stood close behind me, in his ANBU gear.

"Come," the Hokage said, "Let us commence to the Arena."

I nodded.

oOoOoOoOoOo

It was almost starting. Only about fifteen minutes till the opening ceremony would begin. I was sitting next to the Hokage. He was sitting in a stone chair, and there was an empty on next to him. I was standing on the other side of the Hokage. His body guard stood behind him, and likewise Ryuichi stood behind me. I could see Genmo and the contestants standing in a line below, but I couldn't wave to them.

"No sign of Sauske?" The Hokage asked. It was true. Sasuke was no where to be found.

His guard leaned over and said, "We've tried tracking him with the ANBU but there hasn't been any sign of him or Kakashi Hataki."

"I see…" The Hokage said, "Very well, we will…" he looked up and smiled, "Ah, there you are! Thank you for coming, Lord Kazekage."

I looked up as well. Although I knew it was Orochomaru, it was still strange to see what the Kazekage was formally. He was a strange man, not very tall, but his eyes were like Gaara's. He was wearing robes very similar to the Hokage's and his face was covered by some kind of cloth. The style reminded me of Arabic or an Eastern tribal mask. I smiled to myself. One of these days I'll have to visit the Village Hidden in the Sand.

The Hokage stood up and bowed. I stood up as well. "May I introduce my Granddaughter and one of the representatives on our village, Grace Witherspoon," I bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Lord Kazekage," I said. "I am deeply honored."

"The honor is all mine," The Kazekage said, "I have heard about you. Perhaps after the Chuunin exams we could converse in conversation."

"That would be an honor." I said, straightening. We all sat down again.

"You must be tired from your trip," The Hokage said.

"Not at all," The Kazekage said, "It's a good thing it's held here this time; the trip may have been too much for you, Lord Hokage. Perhaps it's time you decide on the fifth?"

I reached out and touch the Hokage's hand, signifying that this was, indeed, Orochomaru.

The Hokage laughed, "Now, now, Lord Kazekage, please don't treat me like an old man. I plan on continuing this job for five or so more years." He chuckled to himself, then stood up, "Well, now. Let's begin." He took a deep breath, and then shouted, "THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR COMING TO… THE HIDDEN LEAF CHUUNIN SELECTION EXAM!" His voice echoed in the stadium arena.

"WE WILL NOW START THE MAIN TOURNAMENT MATCHES…" He continued, "BETWEEN THE TEN PARTICIPANTS WHO MADE IT THROUGH THE PRELIMINARIES. PLEASE STAY PUT AND WATCH UNTIL THE END!"

"If it's ten… one seems to be missing…" The Kazekage said.

The Hokage didn't say anything, only glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"There's something I want to show you before we start the matches," Genmo said to the kids standing before him, "Look at this." He held out a paper with the matches written on it. It was styled in tournament fashion. "Look closely," he said, "This will be who you will be fighting:

"The first match will be Naruto vs. Neji. The second match will be Shino vs. Kankuro. The third match is Temari vs. Shikamaru. The fourth match is Sasuke vs. Gaara. The fifth match is Sakura vs. Kiba. The sixth match is the winner of the Sakura vs. Kiba and the winner of the Sasuke vs. Gaara match. The seventh match is the winner of the Naruto vs. Neji and the winner of the Shino vs. Kankuro. The eighth match is the winner of the Temari vs. Shikamaru vs. the winner of the winner out of the Sasuke/Gaara/Sakura/Kiba fight. The ninth and final match will the winners of the Naruto/Neji/Shino/Kankuro fight and the winner of the Temari/Shikamaru/Sasuke/Gaara/Sakura/Kiba fight. Got it?"

Naruto's mouth fell open. "Why the hell did you explain it?" Naruto asked, "Now I'm even more confused!"

Sakura gritted her teeth, wanting to bunch out Naruto's. Then her eyebrows furrowed. My second match could be against Sasuke…

"Hey!" Naruto asked, "I have a question. Sasuke isn't here yet, what are you gonna do if he doesn't show up?"

"If he doesn't show up by the time of his match, he will receive a default loss."

Naruto gulped. _This is strange… With his personality, he'd be here even if it meant dragging his own body…_ it was true. He glanced up at Grace. Even though she was far away, Naruto could _feel_ her emanating superiority. He smiled, he couldn't think of a better job for her than to be an ambassador or something. But still…_ I hope Sasuke shows up._

Gaara's eyes twitched, and his hand tightened.

_It was an almost clear day, and Gaara was standing with his back against a stone wall. He had created his sand eye in the sky to spy on the two people training on the other side of the rock. _

"_One more time, Sasuke," Kakashi instructed. "Here I come."_

Gaara's hand twitched.

His sensei watched from the stands, a worried expression. _It can't be… after telling him repeatedly not to attract attention… he didn't kill Sasuke Uchiha, did he?_

A blood thirsty smirk appeared on Gaara's face.

"Alright guys, this is the final test." Genma said. "The Arena is different but the rules are the same as in the prelims, there are none. You fight until one of you dies or acknowledges defeat. But if I determine that the fight is over… I'll step in and stop it, you got that?" he gave them a stern look. They nodded and Akamaru gave a small yip in agreement. "Now, the first match, Naruto Uzumaki… Neji Hyuuga, you two stay here. Everyone go to the waiting balcony."

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Um…" Hinata said as she approached Ino and Tenten, "Is anyone sitting here?"

"Huh?" Tenten looked up, "Oh, hi Hinata!" They made room and Hinata sat down on the other side of Tenten, who was now in the middle of the two girls. "Isn't this exciting. Are you excited for Naruto?"

A dark blush appeared on Hinata's face.

"Man, this tournament must be difficult for you," Ino said, "I mean; you have _two _team members in it! And you have _Neji Hyuuga_ on your team," she said to Tenten. Of course, there's Shikamaru, but he's such a lazy ass he doesn't even count. Then there's the Sand Team and Sakura's team. Those two teams must be really good, if all the team members got his far…" _Sakura…_ she thought,_ you are really lucky to have such a strong team…Not to mention Sasuke on it._

"It will be a difficult match to watch," Tenten said.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto and Neji stood opposite of each other.

"Looks like you have something to say," Neji said, smirking.

"I told you already," Naruto said, raising a fist and pointing it at Neji, "You are definitely going down."

The veins around Neji's eyes popped and bulged as he activated the Byakugen. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

_Eyes of a person who totally believes in himself…_ Neji thought, _There's no doubt in him…_

"Now the first match!" Genma shouted, "BEGIN!"

"Heh…" Neji chuckled, "That's what makes it worth while… it will be fun to watch you fall apart when you discover reality."

"Stop all the blabbering!" Naruto shouted, "LET'S FIGHT!"

oOoOoOoOoOo

"War is delightful to those who have had no experience of it." - Desiderius Erasmus

AFTERWORD: I apologize if the chapter didn't make sense, or if nothing really happened, but I thought that was a good place to end it. Hope you liked it! Please review and tell me what you thought of it! Just to let you know, the filler chapters are officially done, and so is the fluff. Although it was fun, fluff no longer would make sense in the story anymore, so, although it was fun to write, I have to draw the line and say that I will not be writing any more chapters that have a majority of fluff. I will however, continue to write humor, but it won't be as… fluffy, but more comical reality humor if you know what I mean. Anyway! Hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will be posted October, 14, 2008, if not sooner.

- fUnKyToEs


	28. The Chuunin Exams: Part XII

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Chuunin Exams: Part XII

WORDS: approximately 4,000 (too lazy to figure out)

DISCLAIMER: I only own Grace… and a bit more…

APOLOGY: I'm afraid that being a year away from graduating from high school puts a lot of stress on me, seeing as I'm in a lot of honors classes and preparing to get into AP classes next year, I've had to focus all my energy on school, as well as I've applied for the National Honors Society (which means a lot of hours of community service) and that alone has used a lot of energy… so I had to made a choice of priorities, and I apologize that fanfiction got the short hand, but now that things have cooled down with school and school related activities I can once again focus on fanfiction. Also, if I didn't respond to reviews the last time, I forgot if I did or not, so if I didn't respond to your review, don't be offended, I just didn't want to respond to the same review twice, and I'll be reviewing them as soon as they come in.

Thank you for being so patient with me

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I reached down and patted Bingly on the head. The dog was doing pretty good for just having to sit here all on his own. I was worried that he wouldn't behave but it turns out the dog can actually sit still when he wants to. I peered down at him. He was facing forward, but his eyes were glaring out the corner of his eye. I didn't dare look, but I knew what he was looking at was Orochomaru. Did the dog really know about him? He's smart.

He is definitely a nin-dog.

Speaking about that man… out of fear that he would sense _my_ fear, I didn't dare look in the Kazekage's direction. I focused on the fight below.

Everyone in the stadium cringed. Neji wiped the floor with Naruto. That idiot! What did I warn him about close range attacks? They're not going to work. I gritted my teeth, clenching my fists. This was important! I knew Naruto wasn't going to advance to Chuunin, but I also knew that it was important for him to win. Neji, with one attack, totally mutilated Naruto's Shadow Clone attack. My head fell into my hand as he flew ten meters away from Neji onto the ground.

Ryuichi suppressed a chuckle behind me.

"Do you have bets on the blond child?" The Kazekage asked me.

I turned to him, smiling brightly to hide the fact that I was closing my eyes, "No," I said, "But he is a close friend and so it does not please me to see him treated this way."

"I hear you are very good friends with many of the children in this exam," he said.

"Just a few." I said.

"I personally cannot wait till Sasuke Uchiha's match against our Gaara. That will truly be a match to be excited for."

"It will," I said, turning away from him. I can't believe I actually have to sit next to him… I shivered. Ryuichi put a comforting hand on my shoulder, squeezing it. I nodded, reassuring him that I was ok.

I focused all my attention on the battle below.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Does this guy have eyes in the back of his head?_ Naruto thought as he pushed himself off the ground. It's obvious that close range attacks won't work on him. _He totally kicked my ass with his byakugen… there's no way that I can trust attacking him from behind…_

"Become Hokage, eh?" Neji taunted, "It's impossible with that…. I can figure it out right now with these eyes of mine. Talent is decided at your birth, you could say that everything is determined when a person is born."

"WHY THE HELL do you always decide things like that!" Naruto yelled at him, "Who the hell gave you the permission—the _right_—to make those decisions for people?!"

"Then are you saying that anyone can become Hokage through hard work?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow. "Only a handful of shinobi are chosen to become Hokage. Look closer at reality! Those that become Hokage are born into that destiny. You don't become it by trying, it's decided by _destiny._ People must live within their unchangeable flow of fate. The only destiny everyone shares, is _death_."

Naruto didn't say anything. He just looked at the Hyuuga, contemplating what he had just said. He grinned, "Well, I don't care! I'm not good at giving up!" He made the tiger hand sign (the cross version) and created about fifty or so clones.

"I am not stupid," Neji said, "I've already seen through your attack pattern."

"Arg, I already told you to stop automatically deciding things!" Naruto yelled.

"If he makes that many clones," Tenten said from the stadium, "He's going to run out of chakra."

Hinata gulped in worry.

"AAAAH!" Naruto yelled as he charged.

Neji took the ready stance, then, as the Narutos advanced, dodged all of them with ease.

"DAMN!" Naruto yelled, "I can't get any of them at all!"

_I told you I'm not stupid…_ Neji thought, _The real one is…_he narrowed his eyes, closing in on one in the back, out of the midst of the chaos. _There!_ He dodged all of the Narutos, rushing through the crowd towards that one Naruto, focusing on him. He punctured Naruto in the chest.

"Guuh," Naruto groaned as Neji's chakra penetrated his skin.

"That was too easy," Neji said, smirking, "Fearing having the body's chakra points pressured, one of your clones is staying out of the fray of the battle. The more you fight, the clearer it becomes…" He lifted Naruto into the air by the two fingers that punctured him.

Naruto threw up blood.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

This was the fake Naruto, right? I thought. Although, so far, the battle was going exactly like I assumed it would, meaning that nothing has changed from the original plot line… which means…. That this must be a clone, right?

"That's why told it was no use." Neji said.

Naruto sniggered, "Heh heh… that's why I told you…" he raised his head to look down into Neji's, he smirked, "That's why I told you to stop automatically deciding things!" He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"_What?!_" Neji exclaimed in shock.

I smiled, breathing a sigh of relief.

"No way!"Neji said, turning round in even more shock to see two Naruto's closing in for the kill.

"YEAH!" I heard Kiba yell from the stadium, "GO NARUTO!!!!"

I smiled. Thank god he's actually ok. If all goes as planned Naruto will win… hopefully. I frowned; I think Naruto would die before he lost, though. I paled. Oh god…

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

_He anticipated my attack? _Neji thought. _Did he purposefully leave a clone out to trick me!?_

"I'M COMING AT YOU!" Naruto yelled, brandishing his fists while in midair, "WITH EVERYTHING I'VE GOT!"

_Neji!_ Tenten thought from the stands. Of course, the poor girl was very conflicted. Her new friend was fighting a comrade and teammate. Who was she supposed to want to win? She almost wished neither would win and the match would end right there.

"HAAA!" Naruto yelled, closing in for the kill. _Yes! _His fist went forward, colliding with Neji's face.

Except… it didn't do anything. "What?" Naruto said. Chakra was blocking his hand from making contact with Neji's face. "…the hell?"

Neji smirked, and began to spin.

"Ah!" Naruto yelled in surprised as he was pushed away from Neji with tremendous chakra power. Naruto and the only clone left crashed into the ground, about three meters away from Neji. The clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Naruto wiped blood from his mouth. _What was that technique?_

"You thought…" Neji said, straightening, "That you had won?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

_That's Neji's defenses for you._ Tenten thought.

"What the hell?" Ino said, "His punch should have made contact!"

"Neji's sphere of vision with the Byakugen is nearly 360°," Tenten explained, "He can basically see all around himself."

"Really?" Ino said, "That's incredible!" She paused, "But you know, that's kind of weird, I can't even imagine being able to see in a circle all at once! It's beyond my capability to even _think_ about what it would be like to see all of that at once."

"For Neji," Tenten said, "And all the Hyuga, it's natural. Right Hinata?" she asked, leaning over to peer at Hinata from the other side of Ino.

Hinata nodded. "I can… can understand… how it would… be k-kind of hard to… imagine though…" she said.

"And with his Byakugen, he can sense all of his enemy's attacks." Tenten said. "There is no flaw in Neji's defense. Right before the attack lands he releases a large amount of chakra from chakra point openings throughout his body, this stops the enemy. He then spins his body like a top, and blasts them away!"

"Wow!" Ino said, breathless, "No wonder he was the number one rookie from his year…"

"Usually," Tenten continued, "The chakra points are hard to control, and most ninja can only control it effectively from a certain area, like the hands or feet. But with Neji, who has mastered the Gentle Fist Technique… He can release chakra from any chakra point in his body, and block physical attacks withjust that."

"That really is incredible…" Ino murmured.

"You could say," Tenten said, smiling, "That he surpasses even Gaara… because Neji, also has an absolute defense!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Father…" Hanabi Hyuga asked her father in the stadium, "Father… that's your..."

"Kaiten is the Hyuga Main Family's… basically it's a special technique that only passed down to the heirs of the Hyuga House…" he answered. _To master it on his own…_ _for him to be this good…_

oOoOoOooOoOo

"No way!" Ino said, her eyes widening. "That Byakugen is pretty powerful… I wonder…"

"What?" Tenten asked.

"Hinata," Ino said, "You can see through things with the Byakugen, right?"

"Y-yeah…" Hinata said.

"So…" Ino said, her eyes glinting, "Do you ever… you know, _spy_ on Naruto?"

Hinata's face turned dark red. Tenten giggled. Ino laughed, "I bet you spy on him while he's in the shower!" she giggled.

"N-no!" blushing furiously, Hinata waved her hand in protest, "No I don't! We don't do that sort of thing!"

"I bet you do!" Ino giggled.

"But still," Tenten said, her giggles subsiding, "Don't be surprised yet. Neji's true power is just starting."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Damn…" Naruto muttered.

"It's over. You are within my Hakke." He closed his eyes, meditating.

"Wha…?" Naruto said, a strange sensation coming over him.

"Gentle fist style, 64 palms." Neji said.

Naruto's eyes widened as Neji, for a split second, disappeared from sight. He gasped as Neji appeared right in front of him. Neji stabbed Naruto's stomach, "TWO PALMS!" Neji yelled, "FOUR PALMS! EIGHT PALMS! SIXTEEN PALMS! THIRTY TWO PALMS! 64 PALMS!"

"Guh!" Naruto groaned as his body, blasted through with Neji's chakra, crashed into the ground.

_That's it,_ Genma said. _It's over._

"I have hit the 64 points on your body, you can no longer even stand."

"Ug…" Naruto said, kneeling on the ground, trembling from the effort. He grasped his stomach, shaking from pain.

"Heh," Neji smirked, "Is it painful? Stay on your knees before a power you cannot change and realize your pathetic worthlessness. Having your dreams come true through hard work, what a pathetic illusion."

Naruto coughed. Then, relaxed, trying to remember something that Grace had told him… What was it again?

"_Now!"Grace yelled, hitting me over the head, "WHAT THE HELL? PAY ATTENTION YOU IDIOT!"_

_I grasped my head, my eyebrows twitching, "Well, it would be so much easier if you made sense!" I yelled at her. _

_  
"Don't say that!" she yelled, "I'm making perfect sense! You're the one with the incapability of understanding it!" _

_I decided not to say anything about that._

"_I've got to warn you about your match with Neji. I've looked at all the angles, and I believe that there's a very good chance that you can win."_

"_Well of course I can!" I yelled. I can't believe she actually thinks that there's a chance I won't win._

"_Shut up and pay attention!" she yelled. "Now… you've got to release that red chakra that you've been learning how to control this past month. Now, here's the part you've got to remember. If you just do that, you can't win out of sheer force or power. You've got to trick Neji into using his full power as well, and then… come out and punch him!"_

"_Eh…" I said, "And how am I supposed to do that?"_

"_Well," she said, use your imagination. However, in order to pass as a Chuunin, you've got to show that you have the ability to think ahead. Lay a trap that will make him fall right into it."_

"_Meaning?" Naruto asked._

"_Dig a hole." She said._

Naruto's eyes narrowed. _Of course._

Neji's eyes widened. "Impossible!" he said.

Naruto smirked, slowly, and painfully, raising his body to a standing position.

"That's impossible!" Neji exclaimed, "you shouldn't even be able to move!"

"I told you…" Naruto muttered, breathing heavily, "I'm…not…good at giving up!"

_This guy…_ Neji thought, _Impossible…_

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Naruto…" Hinata murmured… She took a deep breath of air, and then, her eyes widened as she felt something hard and sharp contract around her heart. She grasped the arm of her seat with one hand, the other grasping her mouth. She coughed, and felt the sharp feeling tug at her heart, making it beat at an alarming and uneven rate.

"Hinata!" Ino said, "Hinata, are you alright!?"

"What's going on—you're bleeding!" Tenten exclaimed. "It looks like the damage you got from Neji in the preliminaries hasn't healed! Hinata!"

"Let me take a look."

They looked up to see an ANBU standing above them.

"Oh," Tenten said, "I'm not sure…"

"It's ok," The ANBU said, "I'm a doctor."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto breathed in raspy gasps.

Neji closed his eyes, and sighed in exasperation, "Just quit already, I have no grudge against you."

"SHUT UP!" Naruto yelled, "Well I do have a grudge!"

Neji was silent for a moment, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Why… if you're this strong, do you mentally attack Hinata, who's trying so hard to impress you and prove herself?"

Neji narrowed his eyes, "That's none of your business." He said.

"Insulting Hinata… Automatically deciding she's a loser!!" Naruto yelled, "And here I started to think… that you… This past month, I kind of started to hang out with you, and although I'd never forgive you for what you did to Hinata during the preliminaries, I _actually_ started to think that you were an ok guy. You helped save Grace from the snake guy! You actually fought with us! And then I saw how you treated the people around you! How dare you treat everyone around you like shit! The Main Family Branch Family… I don't know what the hell happened with all that…But pieces of shit like you who call other people losers…. I WILL NEVER FORGIVE!" _Just a little longer…_

"You wouldn't know anything about it," Neji said. "But fine, if you're so curious, I'll tell you… the Hyuga's destiny of hatred…"

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Are you sure she'll be all right?" Tenten asked.

Ino looked nervously at the ANBU black op. She wasn't sure, but something about this man seemed familiar. _What am I thinking?_ She thought, _This guy is an ANBU! I've probably seen him all over the place!_ But still… Something very familiar.

She glanced at Tenten. Tenten nodded.

There was something fishy about this man. However, they couldn't do anything. He was saving Hinata, and if they interrupted him they didn't know what would happen to Hinata's health. They'd just have to sit tight and keep an eye on him.

Tenten looked over to the main balcony… where Grace was. For some reason, she knew that Grace would have an idea about who this guy was. Grace always seemed to know everything, this past months Tenten has noticed how Grace has been attending more and more of the Jounin only meetings with the Hokage, the ANBU meetings… not to mention being made one of Konoha's ambassadors, or representatives for the village. _Grace… you're becoming so amazing. I mean, you've only been a citizen for a few months, and yet, you're already the talk of the village. The adopted granddaughter of the Hokage… One day… _

_Grace, _Tenten thought, _You're the kind of person someone can trust. _

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kiba narrowed his eyes. Akamaru whimpered. _Hinata…_

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"I think… Hinata is…" Kiba looked at her, "Hey, I'm going to go check on Hinata, I'll be right back. Our match isn't till the end of the first matches, so I'll be alright, but make sure the proctor knows that I'm here, ok?"

"Ok," Sakura said, hoping that Hinata, wherever she was, was ok. She turned and looked out on the arena. Poor Naruto. The boy just wouldn't give up, would he?

"That kid is going to get the shit beaten out of him," Temari said.

"Yeah," Sakura said, "But you know? Grace said she thinks he can win. Grace usually doesn't say things like that was just confidence unless she knows it's true."

Temari nodded, "I think he has a chance, but he's going to go through a lot before that happens."

"Unfortunatly," Sakura said, "I think you're right."

"Personally," Shikamaru muttered, "I think Naruto's already gotten the shit beaten out of him."

Temari wacked him over the head with the fan.

"What the hell was that for?" he muttered, "You said it too."

"You saying it pisses me off." She said.

Sakura giggled, gaining a glare from the two.

"What are you giggling about?" Temari said. "Those were just stupid cards, I don't believe in them."

"Fortune telling cards?" Shikamaru guessed, "To think you actually _did _them is pretty pathetic if you ask me."

She wacked him over the head with her fan a second time. "No one asked, lazy ass."

"You two will never get along, will you?" Sakura asked. _No wonder. They've only ever really talked for one day… but still…_

"Of course not," Temari said, "I'd never even _want_ to get along with a stupid pathetic sluggish lazy ass like this."

"And she's too troublesome to bother agreeing with." Shikamaru said.

_They just agreed over not agreeing…_ Sakura thought. _Their fight will be interesting…_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hinata!" Kiba yelled as he saw his shy teammate laying, unconscious, on the ground. "What happened?" he asked Tenten.

"It looks like the injuries she got from the preliminaries didn't quite heal." Tenten explained, "But she's ok now."

"What's _he_ doing?" Kiba asked, getting a kind of protective agitation as the ANBU ran his chakra covered hands over Hinata's chest.

"It's ok," The ANBU said, "I'm a doctor, I know what I'm doing."

Kiba scowled and squatted next to Hinata. "Hey, hang in there, ok?" he said. Akamaru jumped out of his shirt and licked her face, whining when she didn't respond.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You see," Neji continued, "The Hyuga Main Family has a special ninjutsu that's been passed down… It's a curse seal jutsu."

Naruto blinked. "A curse seal jutsu?"

"The curse of the mark represents 'a bird in a cage'. It is… the symbol of being tied down to an inescapable destiny."

_So is that why… _Naruto thought.

Neji reached back and began to undo his forehead protector. Naruto blinked in surprise and slight horror and shock when Neji took down his forehead protector. "What is that?" He asked. "Is that…"

"One day, when I was only four years old, I had the horrible seal carved into my forehead through that curse seal jutsu. That day, a Grand ceremony was taking place in the leaf. A shinobi Leader from the Cloud country, which had been warring with the Leaf for many years, had arrived to sigh an alliance treaty. But at this ceremony, which everyone attended, From Jounin to Genin, one clan was missing."

"What clan?" Naruto asked.

"The Hyuga clan." Neji stated. "The reason was because that was the day that the Hyuga heir turned three years old. That's right, it was Lady Hinata's third birthday."

Naruto's eyes widned._ Hinata is the heir to the Hyuga clan? Doesn't that make her the equivalent of a princess? To think that someone that important has been that close to me all along, and I never knew that she was even there! No wonder she wants to prove herself so much!_

"My father, Hizashi Hyuga, and Lady Hinat's father, Lord Hiashi, were twins. But Lady Hinata's father was born into this world first… a member of the main family. And my father, the second son, became a member of a branch family." Neji narrowed his eyes.

"_Lady Hinata is already three, congratulations." Hizashi Hyuga said._

"_Yes, thank you." Lord Hiashi said. _

_A small Neji smiled shyly at an even smaller Hinata. _

_Hinata peeped and then meekly hid behind her father's robes._

"_She's cute, isn't she father?" Neji whispered._

_His father was silent._

"_What's wrong, father?" Neji asked._

"_Huh? Oh, it's nothing," his father answered. _

"_I'll be taking Neji with me now, Hizashi." Hiashi said._

_Neji blinked. What?_

"_Yes." Hizashi said._

"When the Hyuga first daughter grew and became three… I was turned into 'the bird in the cage' through this curse. As a Hyuga Branch Family member."

Naruto scowled, "Why is it even necessary?" he shouted, "Why does your bogus clan even need that weird mark? To distinguish the main and the branch families or something?"

"This mark on my forehead is not simply a decoration." Neji said,

"_Ah!" Hinata said as she desperately through a palm punch at her father, she jumped backwards, breathing heavily. _

_Two people watched, father and son. The father spoke after a moment to the son, "Listen, Neji, Lady Hinata of the main family… you will live to protect her and the Hyuga blood."_

"_Yes father!" Neji said enthusiastically. _

_His father frowned sadly. His son looked so happy about this. He turned to watch his twin brother and his niece. _

"_You're footwork is poor!" his brother yelled. _

_His niece breathed heavily, gasping for the effort and of fright. _

_The boy's father narrowed his eyes. _

_Hiashi blinked. Killing intent? He jumped in front of his daughter, creating a seal with his hand._

_Shock swept through the Hizashi's features. "GAAA!" he cried out, grasping his head. Neji jumped up in surprise._

"_FATHER!" He cried, "Father, what's wrong!?"_

_His father fell to the floor, groveling in pain. _

"_Father!" _

"_Leave," Hiashi said, "I will forgive your foolishness no longer. Neji, you mustn't forget your duty."_

Neji eyebrows furrowed. "This curse seal is the absolute fear of death given to the branch families by the main family. With a simple secret hand sea, the branch member's mind can be easily destroyed… death is just as easy, of course. And this curse will only disappear after death. Sealing up the ability of the byakugan along with it."

Naruto's eyes widened. _What the hell?_ He thought.

"The Hyuga House is a clan that holds great advanced blood. Those that go after those secrets are incalculable. So, with this jutsu, the Branch Family is allowed to live only to protect the main family. No disobedience is allowed by the main family…"

_Wow, this guy has a really bad receding hairline—no! Don't get distracted!_ Naruto berated himself.

"It's an effective system, created to eternally protect the advanced Byakugen blood of the Hyuga." Neji closed his eyes, "And that incident occurred. My father was killed by the Main Family."

"What?" Naruto asked.

"One night, Lady Hinata was kidnapped by an intruder. Lord Hiashi quickly took care of it, of course, and killed him. It was dark and he was wearing a mask. Who do you think it was? None other than the Cloud Country Shinobi Leader… who had just signed the alliance treaty with Konoha."

Naruto's eyes widened even more. _No way…_ he thought.

"It became clear that he was here after the Hyuga secrets from the beginning, but the Cloud Country, with one of their Leaders killed in the failed plan… made demands of the Leaf for breaking the alliance. Of course, the Leaf and Cloud bickered back and forth… and it almost came to war. But with the Leaf wanting to avoid war, the made a backdoor deal with the Cloud."

"Deal?"

"The Cloud wanted the Hyuga main family's advanced blood and the Byakugan… they demanded the corpse of Lord Hiashi. And the Leaf agreed to their wishes. And war was successfully avoided. But it wasn't Lord Hiashi was killed, it was_ my father._"

Naruto took a step backwards, "No way…"

"To escape this horrible curse… there's no method but death. They were twins, and their strength was virtually the same. Born first… born second… destiny was decided just by that. And this fight… you're destiny was decided… the moment I became your opponent."

"We won't know till it's over, will we?" Naruto snapped.

Neji put back on his Head Protector.

"I don't know how much it hurt that your dad was killed a long time ago… but… thinking that destiny is all decided because of that is a huge mistake! And why are you so mad at Hinata? If your father wanted you to protect the Main family so badly then why are you going against his wishes? Why," Naruto's voice raised to almost a scream, "If it's your destiny to protect Hinata then why are you so hell bent on hurting her?"

"Shut the hell up!" Neji yelled, and activated his byakugen.

Naruto blinked as Neji appeared right in front of him, slamming his palms into Naruto's chest and lifting him into the air, and then slamming him into the ground. Neji turned around and began to walk away. "Examiner," he said, "It's over."

Naruto growled. "D…don't run away…" he muttered, pushing himself up. Neji narrowed his eyes. "I… will never run," Naruto said, coughing, "I don't' go back on my word…"

"Heh, I've heard that before…" Neji smirked.

"There's no way I'll lose… to a coward who's always whining about destiny!"

"An ignorant brat like you shouldn't be lecturing." Neji said, "People are born burdened with a destiny they cannot oppose."

"_I wish I could have born you into the Main Branch Family… My son."_

"YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE BURDENED WITH A SYMBOL YOU COULD NEVER RID YOURSELF OF!!" Neji yelled.

Naruto's eyes went dark. "Yeah… I can." He said, "And…" he smirked a bloody smile. "So what?"

And with that, the body disappeared in a puff of smoke.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

End of the chappie! Hope you guys like it and I apologize again for not getting it in sooner, but now that things have cooled down with school I should be fine. Well, hope you all had a good thanksgiving!

Tada'

fUnKyToEs

P.S. I've been thinking about a Bleach fanfiction that's been running through my mind for a while, tell me if Bleach is a good manga to write fanfiction for (because I don't really read Bleach fanfiction) and if I should even bother with a Bleach fanfiction.


	29. The Chuunin Exams: Part XIII

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Chuunin Exams: Part XIII

WORDS: 6, 616 words

DISCLAIMER: …………………………………………………. *my silence should say it all*

FORWORD: Well, here it is! Also, please pay attention to the closing forward (forgot the name ) because it is very important (I suppose). This chapter wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, but… I suppose it can't really be helped. Anyway, enjoy.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"And? So what?" Naruto said, and with that, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Neji took a step back, "What? A clone?" _But that's impossible!_ He thought _How could I not sense it before?_

"Behind you!" Naruto screamed.

Neji spun around—but too late. He grunted as three Naruto's simultaneously punched him in the gut. He managed to block two of them, but one made actual contact and he flew up into the air. He landed on his feet a few meters away. He grasped his side, breathing heavily. _How did he get behind my defenses?_ He thought, _And how did I not sense him? Where did he get so fast?_

Naruto smirked. It's just like Grace said. She had told him that she assumed that if you focused your chakra to your feet and legs it game you extreme power… he didn't actually expect it to work so well. He lifted one foot off the ground; it almost felt like he was running on air.

He grinned, _Now, if Neji will just keep playing into my traps._ "Hey!" he said, "What was it you were saying?"

Neji gritted his teeth.

"Besides!" Naruto thought, "I thought you were different! Although I will _NEVER_ forgive you for what you did to Hinata, hanging out with you this past month… I actually thought that you were an ok guy! And although you just ignored up and didn't care about anything we said or cared, I sort of… I felt like deep down, you weren't as big of an asshole as I thought you were! And now! Now I know that it was all a lie! And I'm going to beat that lie right out!"

_Now for the grand finally._ He focused his chakra, breathing heavily. He'd have to rely on _that._ Grace warned him not to use it till the last moment, and, he thought, this is it. Holding his clone for that long after it being damaged took a ton of his chakra. He felt a strange, hot sensation take of her body, like he was burning without the pain.

It was just like Grace had said a dark, crummy and slimy corridor. There was water dripping from the vents. He walked through… according to Grace, the cage should be down here… Naruto stopped, he never actually got a chance to ask her how she knew so much about the Nine-Tailed Fox, she had pulled him aside before the final exam started, and told him this. She also warned him not to let it get out of control. Naruto shook his head. He walked past an opening, and froze, his head slowly turning to stare at what lay before him.

He had never seen such a _huge_ beast.

It stared at him with large red eyes. "_What is this pitiful human doing before me?_" it hissed.

Naruto gulped then strode forward, "Hey!" he shouted, "Foxy! I need you to give me your chakra!"

The Kyuubi laughed, but it sounded like hysterical growling instead of actual laughter. "_Give you chakra?" he laughed, "You stupid creature! How dare you ask me for chakra!"_

Naruto clenched his fist, "I'm _ordering_ you to give me your chakra!"

The Kyuubi snarled and chakra whipped out and wrapped itself around Naruto, squeezing. Naruto coughed and gagged. _ "How would you like me to kill you now? You don't even know how much I wish I could strangle you pitiful little body!"_

Naruto struggled to breath. The Kyuubi let go and the chakra slunk back into the cage like snakes. _"Then again,"_ the Kyuubi said, _"If you die, I die. That's what hate the MOST about this fucking cage,_" he slammed the doors with his tail, making the building, or whatever it was, shake.

Naruto gasped, massaging his neck. "Then give me your chakra!" he shouted, "Come one! Grace told me that if I got your chakra I'd be able to beat Neji!"

The Kyuubi fell silent.

"Well, what do you say?" Naruto shouted.

The Kyuubi didn't say anything. "_Grace?_" it asked, and then it fell silent again, lost in thought.

"Yeah," Naruto said, "Wait, do you know her?"

The Kyuubi chuckled, "_Not personally_." He said. "_But… __**that**__ man will be very interested when he finds out she's… You will see." _He said, "_Very well, I will give you my chakra_."

Naruto gasped in surprise at the shock when the chakra flowed into him. He felt a surge of power, and grinned, then frowned, "Why did you agree only after I mentioned Grace?"

The Kyuubi chuckled again, "_You will see._" Was his only answer.

Naruto grumbled, but chose to ignore it. "Alright then!" he said, "I'll be going now. Thanks for the chakra," he felt a little awkward, and the Fox, the cage, the corridor, they all dissolved into the arena. He grinned. Neji's eyes widened.

Naruto yelled something of no intelligence, and clenched his fists, bending over, and he gathered all the chakra the Nine-Tailed Fox gave him. He felt a burst, and then it flowed all around him and through him. He laughed; it was so amazing, this flow of life and power. He had never felt anything like it.

He never felt better. He opened his eyes and glared at Neji. Now… this is the end. He rushed forward and, at an inhuman speed, charged Neji. Neji took a ready stance and then twirled as the two made contact.

An explosion shook the arena.

The two boys flew away from each other and fell into the ground. Naruto fell, not quite as hard as Neji, because he used his chakra to block the fall.

Neji's hand flew into the air and slammed onto the ground, pulling himself out of the hole created from the aftereffect of the explosion. He pulled his body into a kneeling position, and then a standing position. He walked, more like staggered, towards the hole that Naruto was it.

When he got to where he could see Naruto, he said, "I told you… you cannot fight destiny."

Naruto smirked, and looked up at him, "Wanna' bet?"

Neji's face turned contorted with anger, "How dare you!" he said, "Look at you! What right do you have to challenge me when I have beaten you?!"

"Because," Naruto said, "You fell for it… _again._"

Neji's eyes widened with horror as Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the ground beneath him shook. A Naruto exploded through the earth and jacked him under the chin, sending him flying. That clone, from the digging the hole, disappeared now, and two Narutos appeared on either side of Neji in midair.

_Oh no! _Neji thought,_ I can't block their blows in mid-air._"

The two Naruto's caught Neji in kicks, each one in the opposite direction, contorting Neji's body and sending him flying. Neji hit the ground with a smash.

One of the Narutos disappeared and the other, surprisingly unharmed, landed on his feet.

Neji struggled to push himself up, but just fell backwards. He stared at the sky, at the birds that flew through it, and closed his eyes.

"Because Neji is no longer able to keep up the match," Genma said, "Naruto wins!"

The crowd erupted in clapping and cheering.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I shrieked in excitement and stood up, clapping ecstatically. I turned and gave Ryuichi a hug. I wanted nothing more than to rush down there and congratulate Naruto. He pulled it off so wonderfully! And he followed my instructions so well! That was what made the difference, I knew, and I felt a little guilty for giving Naruto all the information he'd need to beat Neji, but that's how life works.

I turned to the Hokage, "That was wonderful, wasn't it?" I said.

He laughed, "It was. The final exams have barely started," he said, "And yet, I feel like there's already one contestant that is advancing to Chuunen."

My eyes widened, "You're telling me…"

"That's right," The Hokage said, "Naruto has reached Chuunen level, now it is up to the proctors to decide if he's worthy for the title."

I smiled. Naruto… I'm so proud of you.

The medic team had come to pick up Neji. I'll have to go and apologize…. But for now, it's more important for his uncle to do so. I scanned the crowds to see that his uncle was already leaving the arena, heading for the medical room. I smiled. I sat back down, breathing heavily from all the excitement.

"That boy…" The Kazekage said, "He is good friends with the Uchiha, correct?"

"Yes," The Hokage said, "But not as good as this girl is with the boy," he said, "Sasuke Uchiha and Grace are quite good friends."

"I see…" the Kazekage said.

Knowing that the Kazekage was really Orochomaru that satisfied remark, was quite chilling, and it sent a shiver up my spine.

I stared in front of me. The next match. Would they go on with it?

I saw Kankuro and Temari fighting about something. I almost laughed. I hoped that Kankuro and Shino's fight would be canceled to tell you the truth. I almost felt like… I don't know.

"THE NEXT MATCH IS KANKURO VS. SHINO!" Genma yelled, "WILL THOSE TWO PLEASE COME DOWN!"

"I forfeit!!" Kankruo shouted.

The arena was silent and then erupted in shouts of protest. Not that they cared, it's just annoying when someone gives up without a fight.

Genma sighed, exasperated, "Fine, Shino wins by default."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Temari hit Kankuro over the head, "What the hell was that all about?"

"Come on!" Kankuro hissed, "I never liked the idea of having to go before Gaara anyway! If I give up now no one will know my special techniques! Besides, it won't matter if I win or not, for us, it won't matter even _if_ we _are_ at Chuunen level, the Leaf will never let us advance."

Temari scowled at him, "Fine, but _I'm_ not giving up like that."

"Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted as he jumped over the railing and landed next to Shikamaru. "This is your match, isn't it?"

Shikamaru groaned with irriation. "Just my luck." He muttered.

Temari landed next to him, "Looks like it's our fight, Lazy-ass," she said.

"Whatever," He said as he watched her fly on her fan down into the grounds. "Why do I always have to fight troublesome woman?"

"Don't you think this match is perfect?" Sakura squealed.

"In what context are you talking about when you say 'match'?" Naruto asked her, "Come on," he said to Shikamaru, "You can't lose to her now, can you?"

Shikamaru groaned again. "_Man,_ I really wish I could just give up now."

"You're eager," Genma said to Temari. She smirked. "SHIKAMARU!" he yelled, "Get down here!"

Shikamaru groaned.

"Good luck!" Naruto laughed and slapped Shikamaru hard on his back, pushing the lazy guy off the balcony and down onto the ground.

"UWAAHHH!" Shikamaru yelled as he plummeted to the ground.

Temari cringed as Shikamaru landed on his back.

"Hey!" A shout yelled from the stands, "Hurry up and fight!"

"Yeah! Hurry up this crappy fight!"

"Get up! How long are you going to just lay there! You loser!"

_Assholes._ Shikamaru muttered. _They're just here to watch Sasuke's match. They're probably angry because after all this waiting, they have to watch this pathetic excuse for a match between two side acts… And since nobody cares about this fight… there really isn't any point in doing it._

"What, are you going to give up too?" Temari shouted.

"Shikamaru!!" Naruto yelled, "GOOD LUCK!"

Shikamaru sent a glare in Naruto's direction.

"Well, if you won't come, THEN I WILL!" Temari yelled as she charged.

"Hey!" Genma said, "I didn't start the match yet!!"

"Oh man…" Shikamaru groaned, "That girl is really revved up." He muttered. He took two kunai out and threw them. The ground where he was exploded with dirt.

Her eyes widened and she looked up. There he was, smirking down at her, standing on his two kunai knives. "Ya know, I don't really want to fight… and I don't care whether I become a Chuunin or not… but I'm not going to lose to a girl!"

She scowled at him, "And I'm going to teach your sexist-ass a lesson!" she shouted up at him.

"Well," Shikamaru said, "We can't have a guy losing to a girl… so… Well, I guess I'll do it!"

Temari narrowed her eyes, "You really starting to piss me off!" she said, "I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass!" She swung her fan up high and then aimed at the wall Shikamaru was standing on. Clouds of smoke and dust flew in a mini explosion. But Shikamaru… was gone. _Looks like he's great at running away… typical man,_ She thought.

Shikamaru peeked out from behind his tree, _but even so… a guy just can't go around hitting woman…_ he scowled. _Just great…_

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"BUST HER UP!!" Ino yelled, "KICK THAT BITCH'S ASS! GO SHIKAMARU! GET HER WITH A 16 HIT COMBO!!!!"

Tenten sighed, putting her hands over her ears. "Will you stop it? He's probably not enjoying listening to you!"

"Oh, who asked you?" Ino said.

"Is it okay if I sit here?"

They looked up to see Choji standing next to them.

"Oh, Choji," Ino said, "Is your stomach alright already?" she asked, looking with distaste at Choji's huge bag of snacks. "Um… well, Hinata _was_ sitting here…"

"But she's already resting; I doubt she'll wake up for the rest of the exam," Tenten said, "That's what that ANBU said."

"Yeah, sit here," Ino said. "You might as well."

"Hmm…" Choji sat as he sat down, "For Shikamaru to be in the finals… it seems really out of place doesn't it?"

"Don't say that!" Ino said, "Sure, he doesn't have any special techniques but… Shikamaru is really great at planning strategies right? I get the feeling that's how we were able to survive until the final preliminary rounds you know!"

"Mmm… yeah, I guess, but he'll just quit real soon anyway. I'm tellin' ya he's definitely gonna give up. He feels like things like this are such a hassle…"

"And I'm saying he won't!" Ino said. "Just now, he jumped down into the ring on his own so… he seemed unusually revved up to go! He gets pretty hot about things like this! GO SHIKAMARU!!!!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Temari opened her fan. _Let's see… he's a ninja that uses shadows… so he's probably trying to lure me into the trees where there'll be lots of cover… but there's no way I'm gonna fall for that. _ She smirked.

Shikamaru scowled as he looked up at the sky. _Oh man…_ he thought, _Those clouds are so lucky… so free… more to the point, I didn't feel like doing this at all to begin with… And… I only became a ninja because I thought life would be more interesting as one…._ He looked at the hole that Naruto had made. He smirked, _I suppose things just aren't gonna be that simple._

Temari clenched her teeth, _what is he doing with that dumb expression on his face? Is he making fun of me?!_ She raised her fan and, with extreme force, sung in it the air in front of her, shouting, "Ninpou Kamaitachi!"

Shikamaru grunted as he was slammed with wind. The wind cut the branches off the trees, the force was so powerful.

Temari squinted to see within the dust cloud she had created. She gasped in surprise as a shadow shot out from under it. She back flipped about six times until she couldn't without losing her balance, and then she halted. She jumped backwards one last time to keep the shadow from catching her. _It's beginning to shrink back!_ She thought. She sliced the ground that it could not reach with her fan, creating a line. "Ah, I see now. I've seen through your Shadow Possession Jutsu!" she shouted. "Looks like there is a limit to how much you can stretch… shrink and change the shape of your shadow, isn't there… No matter how much you change and stretch the shape of your shadow, you still can't stretch it any further than the surprise area of your normal shadow, right?"

Shikamaru chuckled, "He, that's right." He said.

_Which would mean… judging by the distance from where he attacked with his shadow; from the furthest point the shadow from the stadium wall stretched… taking into account the possibility of him using the stadiums shadow to extend his own… in other words, after subtracting the wall's shadow from the distance to this point is the distance that he can attack with his shadow. This is the outer limit,_ She looked down at the line she created, _That is shadow attack should be able to stretch to. Even if Shikamaru is against the wall or at the edge of the wall's shadow, the distance he can stretch his shadow should be the same. So… the absolute limit his shadow will stretch is… 15 meters and 32 centimeters…_

Shikamaru sighed, and made a hand motion, connected his fingers with the tips of its opposite.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Huh!" Asuma said, looking curiously at the hand seal Shikamaru was making.

"What is that? Is that a seal?" Kurenai asked.

"That's no seal," Asuma said.

"Huh?" Kurenai asked.

"It's a habit of his, he knows how to slowly take his time… he actually enjoys it, like one of those geezers. That's why he likes things like Shougi and Go. I've been playing against him a lot recently and… when he's back into a corner he always does that. It's a sign that he's working on some strategy… as a result, I've never won a game off him… not even once."

"You speak of strategies… this is a real fight… not some game, you know! Sheesh… But it is said that those games originally had their roots as a device for the tacticians to plot their wars with. So, I guess you could say that Shikamaru's a shrewd tactician."

"Shrewd? Hold on a minute! I saw his grades when they were deciding the Genin squad assignments; he was supposed to be at the same level as that Naruto!"

"He always claimed it was too much hassle to even move the pencil for the Academy written exams… it seems that he was always sleep through his tests… Once, it struck me as strange that he could be so strong at strategic games despite his grades… so I had him take an IQ test disguised as a game. I wasn't really taking it seriously at the time…"

"So?" Kurenai asked, "How was it?"

Asuma smirked. "He sure was a diamond in the rough, he is a super genius with an IQ over two hundred!"

"Two—two hundred?" she gasped. "Is that even possible?"

Asuma's eyebrows furrowed as Shikamaru took his hands away from each other, "He's done planning. It'll begin now."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Temari smirked, "Looks like you're finally going to be a little serious!" she shouted. She swung her fan again, "KAMAITACHI NO JUTSU!" she shouted.

Shikamaru grabbed a kunai and jumped behind a tree.

"THERE'S NO USE HIDING!" She yelled again, sending another shock wave his way.

Shikamaru covered his head. Then took off his jacket, breathing heavily from the effort of not falling over from her attack.

"How long are you going to keep running away for!? Give up already!" Temari shouted again, sending yet another wave. She blinked and instinctively blocked a kunai with her fan. This distraction caught her off guard and she gasped in surprise as shadow shot towards her. She jumped backwards way, _Ha! _She thought, _It's no use! As long as I'm on this side of the line, there is no wa…_ she froze, _no! Hold on! Shit! This is bad!"_ She jumped up just in time. She missed being caught by a half a second.

"Very good," Shikamaru said, "You saw through that..."

"I see," Temari said, "You were whiling away the time… waiting for the sun to drop lower… So the shadows of the wall and yourself would grow larger…"

"Hmphh." Shikamaru grunted.

"The closer to sunset, the longer the shadows grow…" she said.

"Bah!" Shikamaru said.

She gritted her teeth._ This guy __**really**__ pisses me off! _ _But from the height of the sun and judging from the earlier attacks, my calculations say this should be the limit of his jutsu…_ Shikamaru's shadow halted and began to waver.

"TEMARI ABOVE YOU!" Kankuro screamed from the balcony.

Temari looked up in surprise. _What?_

A kunai was attacked to Shikamaru jacket, and as it sunk towards the earth, it created a round shadow between her and Shikamaru's shadow, making yet more for Shikamaru use. Her eyes widened. _Oh no!_

She jumped backwards as fast she could.

"You won't escape!" Shikamaru shouted.

_No way…_ Temari thought as she jumped, _To use his shirt as a parachute to add to the shadow… he's quite an impressive fellow! He drew my attention to the ground so I wouldn't notice what's going on above… then when I finally notice the parachute I'm attacked from below as well. A sneaky plan to create an opening…. But now it's all clear to me! The Shadow Possession Jutsu is… A technique that attacks by controlling your own and other shadows. Basically, all shadows between the user and his target can be controlled and used, and in this situation, the distance of the shadow can be increased by the area of the added shadow… and other than his own, he cannot manipulate the shape of other shadows. He can only control his opponent when he catches their shadow with his own. So I can think of it like this… with the Shadow Possession Jutsu your own shadow's shape can be changed at will and if you are within another shadow you can detach it and move it freely within the other shadow… _

She stopped in her retreat when Shikamaru's shadow began to retreat. She swung the fan behind her. She smirked.

"To be able to even dodge that attack," Shikamaru said.

She looked up at the sky, _If I keep this up, his shadow will keep growing and he'll keep expanding his reach._

She slammed her open fan into the earth, creating a wall between herself and Shikamaru. _I'll end it here. I'll divert his attention with the Shadow Clone Jutsu… first I'll hid behind the fan and create a clone, then it will jump out and draw his attention and with that opening… I'll use all my chakra and create the strongest possible Kamaitachi and rip him apart! Right now… his shadow is…_

It was shrinking away. _Good._ She thought.

She made the hand seal, when she froze. But not of her own accord. _Im…impossible! _She thought. "No…no way! I can't use my body…"

"Heh, finally," Shikamaru said, "Shadow possession jutsu… Success!"

"Wha?" Temari gasped. "Why… won't my body move? The shadow can't have reached this far… besides…"

"I'll show you what's behind you…" Shikamaru said, smirking as he turned his head. Temari's head mimicked.

"The hole!" she said.

"You've noticed it, have you?" Shikamaru said, "That's the hole that Naruto dug and ambushed with in the previous battle. It's connected to the large hole in front of you."

"No way… the shadow inside the tunnel…" she said.

"Exactly." Shikamaru said.

"Erh…" Temari said, _It can't be!!_ _The attack using the shirt was just to make me move to this spot!? That was also a diversion!? This guy…_

Shikamaru began to walk forward, and she, being under his control, also walked towards him.

"YEAH! DO IT!" Naruto shouted.

"Go Shikamaru!" Sakura yelled.

"GO!" Ino screamed.

Choji just stared at the scene below, munching furiously on the chips. Shikamaru wasn't going to lose? He wasn't going to give up? What the hell is going on with the world?! The next thing is the sky will turn red!

Shikamaru/Temari raised his/her hand in the air. "That's it." Shikamaru said, "I give up."

Choji smirked, "I told you he'd give up. You're the one who doesn't know anything about Shikamaru, Ino."

"What?" Temari shouted.

"I give up," Shikamaru restated. "The continuous use of the jutsu has used up all of my chakra, and I can barely bind you for more than ten secs. I had thought up about two hundred more moves but… it looks like I'm out of time. I'm getting tired of this… one match is enough for me."

_Strange fellow,_ Genma thought, "TEMARI WINS BY DEFAULT!" he shouted.

The shadow let go of Temari. Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders, stretching them. "Man, I'm tired." He said.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT??!!?!??!?" Ino screamed at the top of her voice, "THIS WAS HIS CHANCE TO BECOME A CHUUNIN!"

"That's just who he is." Choji chuckled.

"When you measure the value of a small unit leader, protecting the team from danger is usually more important than completing the mission," one of the ninja sitting next to them told his friend.

"Yeah," his friend agreed, "In gathering information, you can't be saying 'I completed my mission, but my team was wiped out. You need a guy that can balance the risks, sacrifice and the mission on a scale. If you can't act and think with the lives of the team as the top priority, you don't have what it takes to be a Chuunin."

"On that point," The first one said, "The Hyuuga and the girl were no good. Just your average Genin. The girl _could_ make a good Chuunin, and I bet in the next exam she'll advance, but she's too… head strong. It'd get in the way of a mission. That Naruto kid… he's got a good chance, but he's also a little dim witted to become a Chuunin…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"WHY DID HE GIVE UP!" Naruto screamed, "IS HE AN IDIOT!? THIS PISSES ME OFF! I'M GONNA GO GIVE HIM A LECTURE!"

"Uh, Naruto!" Sakura said, "Wait, don't!"

But Naruto ignored her. He landed next to Shikamaru. "IDIOT!" he yelled in Shikamaru's face.

"Shut up you super idiot!" Shikamaru retorted.

"WHY DID YOU GIVE UP?!" Naruto yelled again.

"Forget about that already, let's just enjoy the next fight…"

"Huh?" Naruto asked. "Oh yeah, that's Sasuke's fight... but he's not here yet."

Sasuke, where are you?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The two ninja on guard duty at the entrance of the arena looked up in surprise as two people approached them. "Oh! You are…"

"We're glad you two are here," the other said, "Now please, hurry into the arena."

"Yes!" Lee shouted, saluting.

"The first round has been mostly completed. Only the Gaara vs Sasuke match remains to be fought."

"So Naruto and Neji's match was…?" Lee asked.

"That was a very interesting match." The ninja said, "It seems like the Hyuuga actually lost," he said. Lee and Guy's widened.

_Naruto beat Neji…_ Lee thought. "I see…" he said. _You did it! _He thought triumphantly, _Good job, Naruto!_

_What a guy you are…_ Guy thought, watching Lee.

"WHAT ABOUT THE NEXT FIGHT!" Someone screamed from the stands.

"WHERE'S THE UCHIHA??!??!"

"Argh!" Naruto shouted, "What is that idiot doing? He's not here yet?!" A leaf appeared in front of his face. "Huh?" he said. Suddenly a tornado appeared next to him.

When the wind dispatched, Sasuke and Kakashi were standing back to back.

"Sorry we're late…" Kakashi said.

"Your name?" Genma asked Sasuke.

"Sasuke… Uchiha." Sasuke answered.

"From your excitement… you won the first round?" Sasuke asked Naruto.

"Of course!" Naruto said.

Sasuke smirked. Then he looked up at the Hokage's balcony. He could see Grace, watching him. She looked so regal in those clothes… he had never seen her in traditional clothing before, and frankly, he thought they suited her.

"Well, are we late?" Kakashi asked Genma.

"Geez," Gemna said, "Like teacher like student."

"So… is he disqualified?" Kakashi asked.

"Don't worry," Genma said, "Sasuke got here just in time. This is his match right now."

"Ahahah!" Kakashi laughed nervously, "That's good news!" he said with relief.

Sasuke looked up at the balcony where the other contestants were. He made eye contact with Gaara and they glared.

"Don't lose to a guy like that," Naruto said.

"Yeah…" Sasuke said.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, before he started walking towards the wall, "I… want to fight you too!"

"Yeah…" Sasuke said.

Naruto grinned.

"GAARA!" Genma shouted, "Get down here!"

"Naruto, let's go back up," Shikamaru said.

"Yeah," Naruto said.

"For going up at least, we're going to slowly walk up the stairs."

"What?" Naruto asked, "You're still pissed that I pushed you down or something?"

Gaara's eyes twitched.

_Not good…_ Temari thought as she observed her youngest brother, _ I haven't seen Gaara like this in a while…_

"H…hey Gaara, about the plan do you understand—" he was muffled by Temari putting a hand over his mouth.

"You don't want to talk to Gaara right now." She said. "You'll be killed!"

Gaara turned away from them and began to walk down the stairs.

"Come on hurry up!" Naruto shouted at Shikamaru.

"There's no advantage to hurrying through life," Shikamaru muttered.

Naruto grinned and then something caught his eyes.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked, walking to where Naruto was. They looked down a corridor, to see the backs of two ninja, and beyond them, the form of Gaara.

"Stop." One said.

"These low level tournaments like the Chuunin Exams are great for betting, and many of the nobles are here for that," the other said.

"And so…" the first one said, "Our lord has a lot of money on the Uchiha kid—and that means you'll have to lose."

Gaara's face grew contorted. Sand flew out of his gourd and wrapped itself around the two ninjas, squeezing and causing the bodies to squish into itself.

Shikamaru and Naruto stared, wide eyed, at the dead bodies, as Gaara walked peacefully by them and continued down the stairs. When Gaara had left the place, they sat down hard.

"Haa…." Naruto breath out.

"If those two hadn't been there… we'd probably be dead." Shikamaru said. "I've never seen a guy who could kill with so little hesitation like that… Even Sasuke could be in trouble!"

_Sasuke…_ Naruto thought. "WE'VE GOT TO STOP THIS MATCH!" he shouted, "If not… Sasuke will be killed!"

Sakura ran down the stairs to him, "What's going on—" She shrieked when she saw the mangled bodies.

"That sand guy!" Naruto said, "We've got to go get Kakashi sensei and tell him to stop the match!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Now," Genma said.

"Heheheheh…"Gaara chuckled insanely to himself.

"BEGIN!" Genma shouted.

Sand began pouring out of the gourd.

_So this is the sand Kakashi mentioned…_ Sasuke thought.

Gaara clutched his forehead. "D…don't get so angry…" Gaara soothed himself. "…Mother…"

_What the hell is he talking about? _Sasuke thought to himself.

"I fed you some nasty blood earlier… I'm… I'm so…so sorry, mother… but this time…" he glared up at Sasuke, "This time it will be delicious!"

Gaara's head twitched, and then fell slack. He looked up, saying, "Come."

"Here I come!" Sasuke shouted. He grabbed two throwing stars, and threw them at Gaara. They were easily deflected by Gaara's armor. The sand turned into a sand clone. Sasuke charged and jumped into the air, and then swung to his side and aimed a side kick at the clone's head. The clone blocked it with his arms. Sasuke used it as a surface to reposition, coming in for an elbow strike. It got the clone under the chin, embedding itself in the sand. The clone chuckled.

"Ha…" Sasuke breathed, and then tried to yank his arm out but it was stuck. He struggled for a moment or two, and then punched with his free hand, and destroying the clone. He charged right through, aiming for Gaara. He aimed punch, but moments before it collided with Gaara's armor Sasuke smirked and disappeared, appearing behind Gaara. He punched Gaara in the face, causing Gaara to fly backwards.

"So that's the armor of sand, eh?" Sasuke said, reaching out his arm and flicking his hand, "Come on," he said.

Gaara's eyes widened as yet again Sasuke disappeared from his sight and appeared behind him. Sasuke avoided the sand with ease and aimed a kick at Gaara's face. Gaara flew backwards. "So… that's it?" Sasuke said, "That's all you got? I'll just rip off all your armor!"

Sasuke became a blur as he whirled around Gaara. He appeared under Gaara, catching Gaara under the chin and kicking up, sending Gaara into the air. He grabbed Gaara by his sash and kicked him in the gut. Gaara fell a few meters away.

Gaara pushed himself to his feet, and made a hand seal. Sand began to gather up and form a ball around him, closing in. Sasuke charged, wanting to get to Gaara before the sand completely covered the other boy. Sasuke picked up his speed, aiming a punch… but was too slow. Blood dripped down his cheek. Spikes had formed, cutting him all down his side.

He hopped back. _Using all the sand to protect himself… so it gets this hard it's packed tight… An absolute defense? _Blood dripped off his knuckles.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto shouted as he, Shikamaru and Sakura approached the man.

The others sitting there turned in surprise.

"Naruto!" Lee said.

"Hn?" Kakashi asked, "What's up?"

"Sensei!" Naruto shouted, "Stop this fight right now! That Gaara is totally different from us!! He's not normal!"

"Naruto… what are you talking about?" Ino asked him.

"He lives to kill others!" Naruto shouted, "Anyway, at this rate... Sasuke will die!!!!"

Sand floated above the ball, forming an eye. Sasuke looked up at it with surprise and disgust.

"Don't worry," Kakashi said, "We weren't late for nothing…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke kicked the ball, and again and again, but it was no use._ As I thought… no good._ He thought as he landed on his feet two meters away. _Hiding in there… I don't know what he's up to but… this is perfect, since mine also… takes some time._"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

So far… so good. Sasuke seemed to be having the better end of this battle, which was a relief… but…I glanced to my side, at the Kazekage. The excitement at which Lord Kazekage was showing at this is… well, it confirms that he is indeed Orochomaru. I watched as Sasuke scaled up the wall of the arena. Most likely he was preparing for the Chidori. I clutched the sides of my chair. This is what I've been waiting for. I've always wanted to see the Chidori in real life, and now, I finally have my chance. I leaned forward in my seat and watched, or tried to, as Sasuke quickly made hand seals. I couldn't really see his hands, but by his body language I knew that he was doing hand seals. He slammed his hands down, one on top of the other.

Bright ice blue sparks began to form, and, much like lightning, a crackling ball appeared over Sasuke's hand. It was so beautiful… like lightening to be exact. And the noise… I always thought that the bird thing was an exaggeration, but it wasn't. It truly sounded like a thousand birds. It burnt a hole in the wall, and he brought his hand up, causing a dent, and then rushed forward with such speed that I only blinked and he was already pushing the Chidori and his arm through the sand ball. The crowd fell silent with anticipation and shock. No doubt everyone knew about Gaara's impenetrable defenses.

"I've got you now…" he said.

My eyes widened up. Sasuke was so cool! And so strong! I've never really seen him fight like this before! I couldn't even believe that he was human!

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A hysterical scream came from the ball, "BLOOOD! MY BLOOD!"

I felt my blood go cold. Sasuke also shuddered and tried to rip his arm from the grasp of the sand. "AHH!" He yelled and he frantically pulled. He formed another Chidori and pushed into the area that held his arm captive.

"GYUAAAAAA!" Gaara screamed gain.

Sasuke's arm came free of the ball's sand but something far more evil held on. A claw. It let go and Sasuke sank to his knees, grasping his arm. I felt my heart contract. Sasuke…

He looked into the hole, and froze.

I grasped the edge of my seat. The horror of what lay inside…no wonder Gaara is freezing up. I doubt I'd be able to talk after seeing what he's seeing now… The sand fell away from Gaara. Thankfully, he had not transformed. I didn't want to see _that._ I shuddered, shivering in fear.

Ryuichi grasped my shoulder. I took a deep breath.

And then…

My eyelids drooped. "Wha…" I said. Genjutsu! I gasped in surprise. I made a hand seal, saying "Release!"

Surprisingly… it worked. Now I'm glad that I forced Jiraiya to teach it too me. I say as everyone but the ninja, with the exception of the Genin that weren't participating in the exam, fell asleep. I felt Ryucihi take a read stance behind me, preparing for an attack.

Lord Hokage and Lord Kazekage slowly turned to look at each other. "Shall we?" Lord Kazekage asked.

His two guards rushed forward, opening smoke bombs.

I screamed explosion went off. Ryuichi grabbed me by the waist and jumped out off the balcony, falling down. He landed on his feet. I clutched at his neck. It felt like the entire village was shaking with all the huge explosions that were going off.

I screamed something in Ryuichi's ears and pointed at a huge three headed snake that appeared at the edge of the village. It was so huge that I could see it from in the arena.

Ryuichi's body went tense as three sound ninja jumped down and appeared next to them. He made a hand seal and a clone appeared. The clone took me by the waist and began to run.

"WAIT!" I yelled, "Ryuichi!"

The clone ran in the opposite direction, leaving the real Ryuichi to fend off the attackers.

The clone grunted as sand sliced him in half. I shrieked as I fell hard onto the ground.

"Grace!" Sasuke yelled, running forward.

I reached out for him, and our fingertips touched when sand wrapped around my waist and pulled me fast away, dragging me after Gaara as his siblings carried him away from the arena.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

END OF THE CHAPPIE

Well, am I getting better at cliff hangers? Ok, sorry I got this chapter later than I thought. I know on my profile I said I'd be getting this one in this morning… but I forgot I was babysitting my niece and nephew… and they wanted to make sugar cookies, and _that_ took like three and half cookies (cleaning up after them took even longer -.-') And when I sat down to finish the chapter… I just kept going and going… and I forgot to end it… Whoops!? *sweatdrop*

Ok. _**IMPORTANT NOTICE**_!!!!!!: I've made a poll that has to do with the Christmas Special (alright, you remember what I said about no more fluff? …I lied…) So, _please,_ if you have an account, _please please _ take the poll and tell me what to do, because in a week, whatever the result it, that will be what the Christmas Special is. I think you need a account, but it's not like a review, you don't have your name on it, you just vote. So PLEASE do so if you want a Christmas special. Thanks.

funkytoes


	30. Konoha Attacked: Part I

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: Konoha Attacked: Part I

WORDS: 4,311 words

DISCLAIMER: I do not claim to own anything except Grace.

FOREWORD: Well, looks like the Chuunin arc, is over… on with the 'Konoha Attacked arc!' This one won't be as long as the Chuunin arc, as, so far, the Chuunin arc is more than half the story line. Well, enjoy the chapter! I decided to upload this chapter tonight verses tomorrow morning because I felt bad because, from the reviews, you guys didn't like the suspense I used at the end of the last chapter. Well, you can decide whether or not to thank me at the end. ENJOY!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Orochomaru wrapped an arm around the Hokage's neck, holding a kunai to his neck. He grinned, "Well, I have to say I didn't expect the _sand brat _to take her, but I suppose it really doesn't matter who it is that takes her."

"Is she the reason of your attack?" The Hokage asked him.

"No," Orochomaru laughed, "But… I would like to have her… she could be a _very_ valuable object."

The Hokage narrowed his eyes. "What purpose would you have for her?" he asked.

Orochomaru smirked, "Well…" he said, "I can think of many things she would be useful… bribe, she is the Hokage's granddaughter, information, for I have found out that she… has access to bountiful information, information that even you do not know… as well as…" his smirked widened, "She's perfect for making Sasuke come with me."

The Hokage snarled, "Do you really think Sasuke would go with you if you harm her in any way?"

"No," Orochomaru laughed again, "But he will if it means getting strong enough to prevent her from ever getting hurt again. That's why it's perfect that the sand brat, in a moment's monomania, grabbed her. It won't be _me_ per say that hurts her, but I will benefit in the end…"

"Do it." Orochomaru ordered four Sand shinobi.

The four shinobi shed their forms, transforming into four young Sound shinobi. They jumped to the four corners of the room. "Ninpou Quad Purple Flame Wall!!!" They shouted in unison. Immediately a purple rectangular barrier formed on the roof. One of the ANBU black ops that were backup for the Hokage realized too late. He caught on fire. His three companions ignored his flailing body as it fell from the roof, focusing on their objective: protecting the Hokage.

"For the Sand to betray the Leaf…" The Hokage said, gritting his teeth in anger. "Orochomaru, what exactly did you do to convince the Sand to follow along with your plans?"

"An alliance is only useful as camouflage to make the enemy relax his guard…" Orochomaru, still in the form of the Kazekage, said. "The stupid fighting games end here… from here, history changes."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Grace!" Sasuke yelled, and prepared to follow the sand trio.

Baki got in his way though.

"Kid," Genma said, appearing between them, "You've already advanced to the level of Chuunin, and since Lady Grace's ANBU guard is…otherwise occupied, I'm giving you your first mission as a Chuunin. Make sure that the Hokage's Granddaughter is returned, and make sure she's not injured."

Sasuke nodded.

"I'm afraid I'm not going to allow that to happen," Baki said.

Genma smirked, "I'll make sure you won't succeed," he said, "Sasuke—go!"

Sasuke shot out of eyesight, pursuing the sand children and Grace as fast as he could.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kakashi stood up from covering Sakura's head.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Genjutsu," he said. "It looks like you won't be able to advance this time to Chuunin."

"Kakashi-sensei!" she said, "That's no important!"

"You're right," he said, "What is important is that the Hokage is being attack as well as Lady Grace has been captured. Sasuke went after her… Sakura!" he said, "Wake Naruto and Shikamaru up! I'm sending you two on a mission."

"A mission?" she asked. "What mission?"

"I want you to track Sasuke down and help him retrieve the Hokage's Granddaughter. That is the focus of your mission. Make sure _nothing_ happens to her. She might only be the adopted mission, but politically, if something happens to her it's like something happening to the Hokage. If she gets hurt, it's a political statement for war." He chuckled, "Not like _this _isn't one already. But still, we don't want the Sand to be in even more political unrest with Konoha. Grace is the equivalent of a princess, and has become a political figure. Make sure _nothing_ happens to her. Understand?"

Sakura nodded. "I understand!"

Kakashi looked at her, and then said, "Stand back."

She stood back, a little confused. Kakashi cut his thumb with a kunai, and then slammed it on the ground, shouting, "Summoning Jutsu!"

A small dog appeared.

"A dog?" she asked, "A dog is our fourth team member?"

The dog hopped over to her, "Now listen here, little girl," he said in a graveling voice, "Don't call me a cute little puppy!"

"Uh… yeah!" she said, "I'm sorry."

"Now, Sakura!" Kakashi said, "Go nullify the genjutsu on Shikamaru and Naruto, and make sure they understand the mission. Then head out as soon as possible!"

"Right!" Sakura said. She and Pakkun snuck, careful to keep their heads below the seats, until they reached where Naruto and Shikamaru were laying. She formed a hand seal and poked Naruto, saying 'release!' while doing so. Naruto blinked and sat up, dazed.

"Huh?" he asked, "What's going on… Sakura?"

"Naruto!" she whispered, "You were placed under genjutsu!"

"Huh? What?!" he exclaimed, "WHY?"

"Don't ask me!" she snapped, "Konoha is under attack!"

"How?" Naruto asked.

"_Don't ask me!_" she yelled. "I don't know! I've got to wake up Shikamaru now."

She crawled over to the black haired boy, and then froze, narrowing her eyes as she examined her body. His eyebrows twitched. "…Shikamaru…" she said, "You…this whole time…"

Pakkun walked over with short decisive steps and promptly bit the lazy ninja in the leg.

"OWW!" Shikamaru shrieked in pain.

"YOU WERE ABLE TO DEFLECT THE GENJUTSU TOO!" Sakura shrieked at him, "Why were you playing possum?!"

"I didn't want to get involved," he said when he finally unattached Pakkun from his leg. "Besides, I don't care about Sasuke…" he pinched the dog's cheek. "ARG!" he yelled as the dog bit him again.

"Wait," Naruto said, "What happened?"

"That's not the whole story," Sakura explained, "You see, Grace was kidnapped by Gaara!"

The two boys paled. "Kidnapped?" Naruto said, "But… that probably means…"

"You do realize that at this point she's probably dead, or worse," Shikamaru said. "But hey, I guess I'll have to help out."

"I know," Sakura sighed. "Sasuke already left to go after them, and it's our mission to catch up with him and get Grace back in one piece."

Shikamaru sighed, "What a pain in the ass…"

"Come on!" Naruto said, jumping up, "We should get going as fast as we can!"

"Naruto behind you!" Sakura yelled.

"Huh?" Naruto said, turning.

An explosion as the wall behind them caved out from the powerful punch of Guy. The poor sound ninja that was caught in the middle of the wall and Guy grunted and then fell, unconscious down the many stories to the ground. "All right kids," Guy said, "Use this to escape and hurry on your mission. Remember, a lot rests on this mission, so make sure that you complete it."

"Right!" Sakura said, "Come on, let's go!"

The three kids and the dog left.

"So…" Naruto said, "That's what happened. Sasuke saw Grace get dragged off and went off on his own—can't blame him, thought."

"Is there something special about this girl?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well," Sakura said, "She's the Hokage's granddaughter."

"I _know_ that," Shikamaru said, "I do hear about something things, especially when our leader adopts a civilian. What I want to know is why Sasuke rushed off like that all on his own."

"Grace is…" Sakura said, trying to find words without actually bringing up the subject.

"We might as well say it," Naruto said, "Sasuke likes Grace."

"'Likes' her?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah," Naruto said, "Like, want to marry her 'like'"

Shikamaru whistled, "He sure picked the oddest one of the bunch."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted.

"So," Shikamaru said, "Why am I being assigned on this mission again?"

"BECAUSE KAKASHI-SENSEI SAID SO!" Sakura shrieked in frustration.

"Hey!" Pakkun said, "Shut up back there!"

Sakura meeped into silence. Pakkun sniffed the air, and then suddenly veered to the right, "This way!" he said. The kids followed suit. Pakkun quickened his pace, a worried expression on his face. "Hey!" he said, "You guys, pick up the pace!" He shouted behind him.

"Huh?" Sakura asked, "What is it!!?"

"From behind," Pakkun said, "Two squads with eight, no… one more, nine men are chasing us!"

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Hey, hey, already?!" Shikamaru groaned, "Man you've gotta' be kidding me!"

"Don't look as if they've got a fix on our true position yet but, they're closin' in on us quickly while on the lookout against any surprise attacks…"

"Shit!" Shikamaru spat, "They're probably all beyond the Chuunin level… if they catch up with us we'll be annihilated!"

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Shit!" Naruto muttered, "Well, if that's the case then shall we ambush 'em and do 'em?" Naruto asked, "We've got to make a game plan here! Our mission is to save Grace! It doesn't matter what it takes!"

"Ambush…" Sakura whispered to herself. "We'd certainly have a great advantage if we were to ambush them!" she said. "Even if they're twice our number, as long as we can surprise them…"

"It's no use. They're subordinates of Orochimaru, a former Konoha Shinobi, you know…" Pakkun said.

"Sheez… I thought we might have been able to pull it off, but I guess not then." Shikamaru said.

"Huh?!" Sakura asked, "Why, that has nothing to do with it, does it?"

"Like, what do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"You guys just don't get it," Shikamaru said, "Ok, listen up! Sure, an ambush is a basic tactic that's very favorable to the user but there are two necessary conditions that must be met… The first is that those fleeing must move without making noise and discover the enemy first! The second is to locate and quickly conceal themselves in a place and position where you can take them off guard and ensure you cause maximum damage to them. And it's only when both of these conditions are met without doubt, will the ambush become effective." He kicked off a branch, propelling himself through the air.

"Well, the first isn't so hard since we have Pakkun's nose…" He continued, "And even with the second condition it may seem at first glance that we would be able to secure the best position to surprise them… since this _is_ our home and we know it like the back of our hand… but… this plan woun't work against the subordinates of a shinobi who was also from Konoha!"

"Huh?" Naruto asked, "Why?"

"Because they're all probably ninja who have mastered the art of hunting… hunters, who will have been taught the geographical landscape of this village and practiced mock combat for this battle, and most likely for the purpose of pursuing us. Even with that, the ambush will still be advantageous to us but there are too many undecided fathers involved! To begin with, the enemies are ninja that's been organized for this plan… where we have… An idiot, a kunoichi with no special ability or talent, a mutt, and the best guy at running away, me!"

The other three glared at him.

"Battle tactics, you know! It's how to come up with the best plan after fully grasping the combat ability available in a given situation. And so, after that analysis, there's only one thing that we can do now…"

_How is he not out of breath?_ Naruto thought. He shook his head and focused on the situation.

"One thing?" Sakura asked Shikamaru.

"We need to create a diversion that looks as if we're going to ambush them… one of use will have to remain behind and… delay them by faking an ambush."

"In other words," Sakura said, "A decoy."

"That's right… if they're stalled they won't be able to locate the remaining three…. If we do this we'll be able to lose the trackers… but the one who stays behind will probably… die."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Well," Orochimaru said, "It appears that Gaara was useful after all…" he chuckled to himself.

"So that's how it is…" The Hokage said.

"You're foolishness is what will bring the downfall of the village," Orochimaru laughed.

"It's not over till it's over," The Hokage smirked, "I thought I taught you that… Orochimaru!!"

Orochimaru smirked and pulled off the mask, as well the dead dry and thin skin covering his true skin.

"I thought this day would come…eventually," The Hokage said.

"Oh?" Orochimaru said, "Really?" he laughed gaily. "What a pleasure!"

"_She_ told me, as well." The Hokage narrowed his eyes, "But I won't let it come true."

"Who? This girl? My, my, I want her more than ever now! To think she can predict deaths… I wonder if she'd be able to predict _my_ death…" he giggled, "To think of all the wondrous knowledge I'd gain if she were mine…"

The Hokage narrowed his eyes, "Don't think you can get away with that… nor kill me so easily." he said.

"I _told_ you should hurry and pick the fifth Hokage," Orochimaru said. "Because…" A long slimy tongue slithered out of his mouth like a snake, fondling the kunai, "You will die here… Third Hokage."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So…" Someone on the outer posts of the village asked, "Who is this Orochimaru guy?"

Ibiki replied, "He was formally the Third's Disciple."

"Why did he become a missing-nin?" The ninja asked him.

"A long time ago… when the Fourth Hokage was chosen… Orochimaru felt he was the worthy choice… but he wasn't selected. Pretty soon after that he defected from the village. From that, Orochimaru most likely has a grudge against the third."

"Revenge?" The ninja asked. He wore a head mask, that only exposed his face, giving him a penguin look.

"Almost certainly." Ibiki said. He closed his eyes, "When I saw him as a child… there was only one thought going through my head… I was sure… that he wasn't human… it was as if he was just wearing the human shape… I was afraid." He opened his eyes and then narrowed them, "Absolutely terrified."

The other ninja gulped at the prospect of _Ibiki _being terrified about anyone. "So that's his sole reason for attacking the village you reckon?"

"That…" Ibiki said, "And perhaps for _that_ girl."

"Huh?" The ninja asked, "Who?"

"She's now known as the Hokage's granddaughter, that girl Grace," Ibiki said, "She was found seven months ago by Kakashi's team. I was the one who investigated her before she became a civilian."

"You did?" The ninja asked, "I'm surprised she's still as sane as she is."

Ibiki ignored the comment, narrowing his eyes as he thought.

"_On the one with that guy building the bridge, right?" she asked almost excitedly, "Man, they have their work cut out for them, I think that mission is D ranked, right? It turns into an A rank because they bump into that missing-nin Zabuza and Kakashi has to beat him…" Ibiki's eyes widened. What is this? Is this true? But if it was, how would this girl know? Unless she's a spy…_

"_How would you know their mission and what is this about Zabusa?" He asked sharply, his fist clenching and his brow furrowing. She mumbled something under her breath. Stubborn, he thought, but only glass. With a bit more pressure, she'll crack easily._

"_What was that?" He asked piercingly._

"_I don't know… I just know things!" she blurted. "I mean, that was how I knew their names, Kakashi's team, I mean, and how Kakashi had the sharingan and that's how I knew that the Hokage was the third and that was how I knew about their mission and that your name is Ibiki and your head of investigation and you are in charge of the first exam for the Chunin exams for the time that Kakashi's team takes it and that's how I know that that is when—" she froze, her eyes widening in horror. Ibiki's eyebrows hunched. This girl… she must be a spy in order to know that. But… if she was one… why would she give such information so carelessly…_

_He stared at her. Then he nodded to one of the guards, "Go and fetch the Hokage, he should know whether she is a spy or not. However, all this information you know… I need to know what else is happening. So you know things that most ninja don't know… can you see the future or something?"_

"_Not really." she said, shrugging, "I mean, I know what's going to happen to people, especially Kakashi's team," she paused, thinking "It's more that I know what will happen because where I came from, it has already happened. I can't say anymore than that." she said, "You must understand, I know things that will change what should happen, if I say anything… I can't even think what will happen."_

"_Will it save this village? Save lives if you do?" he asked._

_She looked down, "Yes, I know things that will save many lives." _

Is this the sort of thing she was talking about? She knew about this, which was evident. Even if there was any doubt that was in him about her telling the truth, she had predicted the attack on Konoha. She knew exactly what would happen, and so far, it had all fallen in place. The Hokage adopted her, and so far, she has been nothing but loyal to the village. He knew that she was an ally.

He was also one of the few people who knew the truth. The Hokage, Kotetsu, Izumo, himself, Kakashi… and a few other Genin along with the elders of the village were the only ones who were aware of the truth.

But… still, Ibiki couldn't help but wonder. What will happen now? Will she continue speaking the truth? Or will things start going down a different path, like she said? She has begun to change things. She might not say it, but it is true. He was there, after all, at her birthday party.

"_Nice dancing," Sasuke snickered as Grace sat, waiting for the cake. She glared at him. _

"_Thanks," she said, dryly, "you're too kind." Then she smiled bigger, "How are you feeling, by the way? You're pride still hurt?" she said in a baby voice._

_His head snapped in her direction, his eyes glaring. "I thought we agreed never to speak of this again." He snapped._

_People started singing happy birthday and their conversation was interrupted. "Happy birthday to you!" they sang, "happy birthday to you!"_

"_YOU SMELL LIKE A MONKEY!" Naruto and Konohamaru yelled. She glared at them, but Sakura beat her to them, punching them both at the same time. _

"_Happy birthday to you!" She closed her eyes, waiting for a moment. It was in that moment, that Ibiki, who, by being head in the investigations department, he would notice certain characteristics about people. He could tell at a glance what someone's emotion was, what they were thinking, and what their motives were. It was in that moment, that Ibiki noticed it for the first time. Unintentionally or not, the look that Sasuke gave Grace… it was something that… Ibiki knew then the girl had made an impression on the boy. He might not realize it himself, but the look he gazed at her with… was nothing other than… pure infatuation. _

She had mentioned that if she said anything, it would change the course of fate, and fate would then turn down another path, and dictate their lives in a different way than she knew. She had said that if she _said_ anything, but Ibiki already knew, from the talk of the people of Konoha… the ninja who had met her… everyone… she was changing everyone by her presence here. And with the Uchiha kid, none other has been more affected by her than he.

Another ninja landed next to them, "Report!" he said, wiping his brow, "Giant serpents have appeared at the Eastern Leaf entrance!! And approximately 100 Sand ninja have invaded the village!!"

Ibiki narrowed his eyes. _Finally…they come._ He stood up and barked commands "Have all shinobi move out and assume their positions! Get in contact with the commander of the East Gate!"

What will happen now, kid? He thought, How much longer will you be able to speak the truth?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The Hokage looked up in mild surprise at the fact that there were tears in Orochimaru's eyes. He smirked, "Are you that happy?" he asked.

Orochimaru lifted his kunai and, thrust it towards the Hokage's throat. Blood spurted. Those fighting on ground level looked up in fear when they sensed blood. But, in vain. Orochimaru giggled as the pierced his hand.

"Trying to kill you own master, yet… you still have the heart to feel some small amount of sadness?" The Hokage asked him, although he doubted the validity of it.

"I finally feel better," Orochimaru said, his hand twitching slightly. "No… I'm not remorsing, I was just tired… I yawned a tear leaked out, that's all."

"Heh, I thought so." The Hokage said.

"I know you're not the type of man to act solely on vengeance. You have neither goals nor reasons."

"Hmm… perhaps, but I do have a goal… well, you could say… I enjoy watching things in motion. It's dull when things are at a standstill isn't it? A stopped windmill isn't worth watching, you know… Thought, sometimes it's good, because of the anticipation you see… Anyway, right now… I want to make that windmill spin again… with the 'crumbling leaf' as the wind."

"Heh," The Hokage smirked again, removing his Hokage's hat. "You're the same as always…."

They both removed the robes, the Hokage revealing his battle garb, and Orochimaru his typical Sound clothing. "Hehe…" Orochimaru chuckled, "To be able to fight you again… so you have funeral shroud prepared."

"This barrier," one of the ANBU on the outside of the barrier asked his captain, "It can only be broken from the inside, eh?"

"If the Hokage would only take out of those four holding up the barrier, then we would be able to go in and assist him," The captain said.

"Hey," the six armed boy said, "It's about to start."

"Put up a barrier on the inside too…" the two head one said.

Immediately, a second layer formed on the inside of the outer barrier.

"Heh, looks like I won't be able to escape easily," The Hokage said.

"As if you intend to… you'd rather not have anyone get in your way, right?" Orochimaru sneered.

They gazed at each other. A leaf fell between them. Before it reached the ground, the two men had disappeared momentarily from sight, and then, performing hand seals faster than the eye would follow, sped towards each other.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Would ya look at that," One of the Sound ninja sneered, "He's just a kid…"

"…To think we'd be caught by the likes of him!" another said.

Shikamaru panted from the effort of keeping up his Possession jutsu on so many people at once. His chakra was nearly completely depleted from the exam with Temari.

"This must be the famous Shadow Binding Spell, huh?"

"Ahh…!" Shikamaru said, "That's a really old-fashioned way of saying it! Times are changing… now, it's called Shadow possession jutsu!" _Just like I thought, this match was really a mistake. I used up way too much chakra. I wouldn't last all that long now. Well, but… where would that ninth ninja be hiding?_ He held four throwing stars in one hand, and four kunai in the other, brining his arms up, and then swung them at the men, sending kunai and stars straight for their heads. _The ninth one must have the purpose of __**preventing**__ them from getting into sketchy situations such as this._

They were blocked by some unseen force and fell to the ground. Shikamaru looked up in the direction of said force. _Up there, huh?_

The Sound ninja chuckled as Shikamaru's shadow began to slowly reluctantly let go of them and shrunk back to him. _Shit… the speed of the shadow won't increase. I don't have any more stamina to convert to chakra…_

"It's useless," A Sound ninja said, "We already know all about your technique."

"Geez," Shikamaru said, nearly wheezing from the effort of standing.

_I guess this is it._ Shikamaru thought.

"Looks like… you're at the end of your rope…" The Sound ninja said, "This so-called Shadow Possession Jutsu will be released soon… best be prepared!"

Shikamaru sighed and looked up at the slowly passing carefree clouds. _I was going to be a so=so ninja and earn an ok salary_… he thought, _marry a regular girl who'd neither be a beauty or a hag… have two kids, first a girl, then after that, a boy… then I'd retire when my oldest girl got married and my son became independent… after that I'd play Shogi and Go all day long, living a relaxed and easy retired life…Then I'd go of old age before my wife… I wanted that kind of life and then… I tried to do my best which is so unlike me… I wanted to end normally and then…_

_I really did such a tiresome thing here._

"It's like you said…" Shikamaru said, "Looks like I've reached my limit…" he said. The shadow completely let go of them.

"Hey… how'z about coming out now?" The Sound ninja said. "And while you're at it, why don't you lop his head off for him?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened as something huge and powerful landed forcefully behind him. He looked back and a smile of relief spread across his face, "Asuma!"

"Heh," Asuma said, "Finally caught up with you." He grinned, and faster than lightening, he dealt away with the Sound ninja till they all laid in a bloody mass on the ground.

Shikamaru sighed and sat down hard. So… it looks like he wasn't in danger of dying after all. Now, he was safe.

If only the same could be said for Grace…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

And here you guys thought I was being nice!! HA! Well, I hoped you liked the chapter!!! The next one _should_ have Grace in it… heh heh…. Anyway, please see my profile page, because I've created a schedule up there, and if anyone is interested to see more information on the sequel as well as other fanficitons I'm planning on writing, go to my profile and read what it says.

As always, thank you so much for reading.

Please review!

And have a good weekend,

fUnKyToEs


	31. Christmas Bonus Chapter

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: Christmas Bonus Chapter

WORDS: 4, 021 words (way more than I thought it would be)

DISCLAIMER: It's on my wish list.

BEFORE WORD: ***IMPORTANT****

This chapter DOES NOT EXIST in the plot! So basically, this chapter is separate from the story Truthspeaker itself. For obvious reasons, it doesn't fit in with the plot, and the story is in August, not December at the moment! Anyway, this is just a fluffy chapter and please remember that this stuff really has nothing to do with the story of Truthspeaker. I'm sorry I got it in so late tonight, but I was sick with the stomach flu all day yesterday and today, and was only just starting to feel better today, so I rushed this chapter in the last hour or two… believe me, having the stomach flu a day before Christmas… is _not _fun. Besides that, Please enjoy this Christmas special! I apologize is Grace gets a little ditzy and if Sasuke gets a little OOC, but I couldn't help it XD

NOTE: I'm terribly sorry that I'm getting this in so late... I figured out how to trick my computer/internet into letting me post stuff (literally, there's like five steps instead of one) but I figured it out so no worrys. Again, i'm SO SORRY that this is posted on Christmas day instead of Christmas eve.

Please forgive me, and merry christmas

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOo

"I'm sooooooo excited!" I squealed. Sakura and Tenten nodded as they unpacked the boxes. "I don't know why we decided to do everything Christmas Eve, I mean, it _does_ sort of take the Christmas joy out of things… for the month prior to Christmas… and then the day before Christmas it's so much more fun this way though!"

"Then make up your mind…" Sasuke muttered as he walked in with another box from the attic, "Do you like it this way or not?"

I sighed, exasperated, "Do you always have to question what I say and do?"

"It's my job." Sasuke shrugged as he put the box down onto the ground.

"Right!" I said, "As soon as Naruto comes back with the tree, and we're done unpacking, then we can start to… go shopping!"

"Wait a second…" Sakura said, "You haven't done your shopping yet?"

I laughed uneasily. "Ah… well…. I sort of…" I put my hands on my hips, "I did do most of my shopping, just the last minute shopping that you can't really do until the last minute that I left to the last… minute…"

"Seriously," Sasuke said, "You really don't think ahead, do you?"

"Shut up." I muttered. "I didn't ask you."

"It's taking Naruto an awfully long time," Tenten said, "I mean, it's noon already and he's not back yet."

"This is…you're right…" I said, "At this rate we won't have dinner ready yet… yet…"

"Yeah, what exactly are we doing today?" Sakura asked.

"Well," I said, taking out my list.

"You just have a list for everything, don't you?" Sasuke smirked.

I glowered at him, then scanned my list, "Well, first is to unpack the Christmas stuff… then to make dinner… then everyone will come over and we'll decorate and have dinner… and then we'll go out to the Christmas festival and buy stuff!"

"That's the part you're looking forward, isn't it?" Sasuke asked. "And why do I have this nasty feeling that when you going to go shopping you'll be dragging me along with you?"

"Well," I said, "I need your opinion!" I said, "Besides, you're really easy to wheedle money out of."

Sasuke sighed. "That's the real reason." He said, as he turned around and went up to the attic again.

"Do you really think that Naruto would be alright?" Tenten asked, "All by himself? Don't you think that getting the Christmas tree would be a little too hard for him?"

"Hard?" I asked, "He's got his clone jutsu, besides," I shook my hand, "I sent Konohamaru with him, and I've drilled exactly what kind of Christmas tree I want."

"That's… not reassuring."

"Yeah," I said, "I know where you're coming from. But don't worry, I sent reinforcements."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOOoOoOo

"Are you sure this is what she wanted?" Naruto asked.

"Yes!" Konohamaru said, "Do you see this list? She wants a fat, tall, green, 'fluffy', cute, Christmassy—is that spelled right?—and a pine smelling tree."

"Don't they all smell the same?" Naruto asked.

Konohamaru sniffed the tree Naruto held. "Yeah, you're right."

"Eek!"

Naruto and Konohamaru's head whipped around to see… "Neji?" Naruto asked, "Did you make that noise?"

Neji sighed, "No… Hinata."

Another 'eek' came from a tree.

"Oh," Naruto said, "why is she hiding?"

"You know something," Konohamaru said, sweat dropping, "You're just like Grace in that way…"

"What way?"

"Absolute stupidity." Neji muttered.

"What was that!!!???!!??" Naruto growled. "Say that to my face!"

"I just did," Neji said, "Or are you too stupid to realize even that minuscule detail?"

Naruto started to heat up with anger.

"Yo!" Choji said, appearing next to Naruto, "Whaddup' Naruto?"

"So… are you guys here to get a tree?" Shikamaru said.

"Huh? Oh, hi guys," Naruto said. "Wait, I thought that you guys got Christmas trees already?"

"We did," Shikamaru said, "But Grace told us to help you hurry it along…"

"Funny," Neji said, "That's what she told us."

"Huh?" Naruto said, "You guys aren't here to get a tree?"

"We already got our trees," Neji said.

"_Trees?_"

"That's right," Neji said, "The Hyuuga household has five."

"Whoa," Naruto said, "You guys are loaded, aren't you?"

"You can say that again," Shikamaru said, "So, are you guys all going to Grace's house tonight?"

"Y-yes," Hinata said, emerging from the tree and hiding behind her cousin.

"Unfortunately." Neji said.

"K-Kiba and Shino are coming too," Hinata said.

"And Lee is going, of course," Neji sighed.

"I _think_ Ino is going," Shikamaru said, "Although it would probably cause a world war if you put Grace and Ino in the same room as each other…."

"You can say that again," Neji said, "The last time they were together it was a disaster."

"Yeah…" Shikamaru said, "Besides, I thought that Grace liked Sasuke?"

"What do you mean, _besides_?" Naruto asked.

"Well, if she liked Sasuke then why'd she kiss Kiba?"

"Oh…" Naruto said, "Well, that…. Not sure… she always avoids the subject."

"Oh… that," Hinata mumbled, "Well, you see…. Sakura and Tenten dared her to kiss him…"

"WHAT?!" Konohamaru and Naruto yelled, "Why _Kiba_?"

"Why me what?" Kiba asked them.

"Why did they dare her to kiss _you_?" Naruto asked him, pointing.

"Kiss—" Kiba's face turned red when he realized what they were talking about.

"Wait a second…" Naruto muttered, "You… you like Grace don't you?"

"I—no—what—of course not!" Kiba stuttered, but Akamaru yipped, amused. "Well, I wonder why Hinata put that sign on your back!" he said, pointing at Naruto.

"Huh?" Naruto, "What sign?"

Hinata had disappeared….

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Yay!" I clapped, "It's perfect you guys!"

Naruto sighed in relief. _She's happy… our lives are still safe…_

"Alright!" I clapped, "Now that everything is unpacked, we can start dinner!" I frowned, "Where are all the people?"

"What people?" Naruto asked.

"The people I sent for backup?"

"Oh them, well, we told them that they should come back at dinner time," Naruto said.

"Good job!" I said. "Who all arrived?"

"Well…" Konohamaru said… "There was Hinata and Neji… then Shikamaru and Choji… and Kiba."

"Eh," I said, feeling my face start to heat up, "Kiba, huh?"

Sasuke looked away.

"Right," I said, shaking my head, "Time to start dinner…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Eh, you're doing that wrong," Sasuke said.

I sighed, "Fine, sorry I'm such a bad cook."

"It's ok, and you're not that bad, you just can't make any Japanese food…."

"Aka, I suck…" I muttered. This sucks. I was really good at cooking—it's not my fault I can't make Japanese food! "Isn't there a special way to make this? Or cut it, to say the least?"

"Uh, yeah," Sasuke said, "But it doesn't really matter, I mean, it'll taste relatively the same, however you cut it."

"_Relatively _the same?" I cried, "But I don't what it to be that way."

"Alright, Alright!" Sasuke said, "I'll show you!"

There was an awkward moment in which we positioned ourselves so that he could show me.

He placed his hands, hesitantly, I think, on mine to show me how to cut it. I smiled, "This is a lot easier with you showing me how to do it," I said.

"Well, that was the reason to me helping you," Sasuke said.

I leaned backwards, and to my surprise, I realized that Sasuke was just about my height now. "You're taller now," I said.

"I _am_ fourteen," he said.

"Yeah," I said, "I suppose you're right." I frowned. I didn't except… I mean, I knew that he was a ninja… but he… "You must work out a lot!" I said, "I mean, you're really muscled!"

Sasuke tensed behind me, his hands, in almost a panic, tightening on mine. "I—…" he said.

"Whoa!" Naruto said, "Who put mistletoe above you two?" he laughed.

Sasuke and I separated, "We weren't kissing!" I said, "Sasuke was just showing me how to cut this meat! Besides, there's isn't any mistletoe above us."

"_Right_…." Naruto said, "I—oh crap! Sakura! We forgot to put mistletoe up!" he rushed out of the room.

"Somehow I do not like the vibe I'm getting from him," I said.

"Yeah," Sasuke said.

I looked at him, and blinked in surprise. "Sasuke… why is your face red?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"This is really good!" Lee said, "You guys are all such good cooks!"

"Thank you!" I said, smugly. Alright, there you go, I admit it, ok?

"I can't believe I forgot mistletoe…"Naruto muttered to himself…. "It was a perfect opportunity…"

"And then… get this… get this," Sakura said between guffs of laughter, "He said… get this… he said… 'I don't eat beef!'"

Tenten burst into laughter, pounding the table in good humor.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "That joke wasn't funny at all….

Neji was making a half conversation with Shino, and Choji was stuffing his face.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, and soon dinner was over….

"Oh!" I said, "We didn't get to decorate the tree!"

"We can do that after the festival!" Sakura said.

"That's right!" I said, "Man! I'm so psyched for the festival! Is anyone else dressing up for it?"

"The girls are," Neji said, "But I don't think that any of the guys are."

"Well, whatever," I said, "I'm dressing up in a kimono!"

"A kimono, huh?" Naruto said as he nudged Sasuke in the ribs, "What do you think of that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sasuke said, turning around and walking away.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I linked arms with Sasuke, "Well," I said, "What do you think?"

"You… kimonos fit you." He said.

"They do, don't they?" I grinned. "Where will we go first? Those dumpling things? Ramen? Dancing? Shopping? Oh there's just so much to do!"

"Yeah, and most of it will deplete my wallet…" Sasuke muttered.

"Cheer up," I snapped. "It's Christmas." I smiled, "Look! There's Naruto and Hinata and Sakura!" I waved.

They waved back, but then noticing who I was with, disappeared. "Wow," I said, "They seem to be avoiding us like the plague. That's not very nice, is it?"

Sasuke sighed. "Well," he said where do you want to go first?"

"First?" I said, "Hmm… How about… oh! The fish!"

"Fish?"

"You know, those fish in which you try to catch them—I see it all the time in manga and anime!"

"Oh…" Sasuke said, "You mean those things?" he pointed at a stand in which people were bent over, trying to catch fish with these little flat nets.

"Yup yup yup!" I said, and dragged Sasuke over with me. "I want to try!" I said.

Sasuke, muttering, paid for me and I took the five weird flat nets that I was given. "Thanks," I said, and set to work on getting a fish…

"Damn it!" I said as I destroyed my last net, "These things are impossible to catch! It's like they have sensors in them that tell them from which exact moment I'm coming from."

"Well," Sasuke said, "Technically—"

"Don't want to hear it," I said. "You do it."

"But I don't even want a fish." He said.

"I don't care!" I said, "I do! And you're a ninja! So it should be a piece of cake for you! This reminds me of the last time we did something like this…" I said. "You know, I still sleep with Sasuke-kun! He's so soft and it's like a giant pillow!"

Sasuke sighed and paid again and then, with just one try, got a goldfish.

The stall keeper put it in a bag and handed it to him. Sasuke then handed it to me. "Here you go." He said, not looking me in the face.

I smiled, accepting the fish gently, "Ooh, he's so cute! Thanks so much, Sasuke!"

He shrugged, "Well," he said, "We should probably get going," he said.

"Yeah," I said, "We don't want to miss anything."

"Well," he said, "This festival is nothing compared to the New Year's festival. This is just something that we started doing recently, but the New Year's festival is incredible. I'm sure you'll like that one even more."

"Yeah," I said, "I bet I will… but there's still something special about Christmas!"

He smiled, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right," I said.

He frowned.

"Oh!" I said, "Look! There's the dumplings!" I pulled him in that direction, careful of my fish. "And look! There's the dancing arena! Two in one! We halted right next to the little indoor stall that was selling dumplings. "Will you go buy me one? It's so crowded in there I'm afraid I'll get my kimono dirty. This is a real kimono, you know."

Sasuke gave me a weird look, and said, "Yeah, I sort of guessed that."

I smacked my forehead. Of _course_ this is a real kimono! This isn't some kind of cosplay place or in America in which you see something like a kimono and you automatically assume that it's fake! This is the world of Naruto! This is basically a weird mutated Japan!

"But I'll go get you some, anyway," Sasuke said.

"Thanks!" I said as he walked into the crowd.

I stood there, waiting, and began to hum to myself, holding my fish. What would I call him? I can't call him Sasuke-kun, that's what I called the giant cockatoo… what about… I looked at him. Goldfish sure are weird. What about… Kuta? Hm… Kuta-chan! No idea what it means or if it's a real Japanese name… but it sounds authentic so I'll go with it!

"Uh, hey, Grace."

I turned around to see Kiba. "Oh," I said, "Kiba, what are you doing here?"

"Eh…" he scratched the ground with his foot, "Well, I was just wondering around and I saw you here…" he said, "And I was wondering if you… you know… would like to dance…"

"Huh?" I said, "You want to dance with me? Hm… I'd love to but I have no where to put Kuta-chan."

"_Kuta-chan_?" he asked.

I pointed to the fish.

"Oh," He said, "Well, Akamaru can bring him somewhere safe."

"I looked at the dog on his shoulders, "Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, Akamaru is very reliable."

"Oh," I said, "I don't doubt that, it's just that his teeth are probably really sharp and I'm afraid he'd break the bag."

"No," Kiba said, "Theirs is a handle to the bag you know."

"Oh that's right!" I said. "Speaking of dogs though… Bingley has disappeared again…"

"Again?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah," I said, "He was originally a stay so he kind of wonders a lot, but I'm sure he'll show up before the nights over. He always does show up when the times most urgent."

"That's good," Kiba laughed, Akamaru jumped down from his shoulders and sniffed me, then licked my hand.

"Akamaru's really cute," I said.

"Thanks," Kiba laughed again.

I handed the bag to Akamaru, who put it gently in his mouth, and then he walked carefully away.

I stood up and smiled at Kiba, "I've never really danced before," I said, "I mean, not like this…"

"It's not hard," Kiba said, "I can show you."

"Ok!" I said. I took his hand and walked onto the dance floor.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The Uchiha were noted to be territorial, and they were also known to be aggressive when their 'possessions' were threatened.

Sasuke excited the little shop, happy to finally be out there, when he noticed that Grace was no longer standing where she was when he went into the shop. He scanned the area, accurately assuming that she must have wondered somewhere nearby.

His hand tightened on the bag he was carrying.

Grace was… dancing with…. Kiba….

He remembered all too well the night that Grace kissed Kiba, although it was on the forehead. How… He gritted his teeth. Truth to be told, he did look forward to… dancing with Grace, although he knew she's make a total idiot of herself… but the point was he wanted her to make an idiot of herself with _him_ not Kiba!

He dropped the bag onto the ground.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"This is actually a lot of fun!" I said as Kiba and I twirled around. "You're a really good dancer!"

"Well," he said, blushing slightly, "I'm not that good—you're pretty good yourself!"

Aww! I thought. He's blushing! That's so cute! "Thank you!" I said. "I'm glad you came along! This is so much fun!"

"Yeah—"

Suddenly, unawares to either of us, something happened. I gasped as my foot caught on something and I fell forward. Kiba's eyes widened in shock, most likely at my lack of balance. He caught me, and I 'oofed' into his arms. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked.

I nodded, my face heating up. Man… I'm such a clutz! But… this is kind of romantic! Too bad he's so much younger than me… he settled me on my feet, then we got back into position, and…

"Do you mind if I have this dance?"

I looked up in surprise, "Sasuke!" I said, "I was wondering when you'd show up!"

Kiba narrowed his eyes at the other boy.

Sasuke almost smirked, then just smiled at me.

"Well," I said, "I'd love to dance!"

Sasuke swiftly took the place of Kiba, and swept me away. Now this, I thought, is romantic! Too bad it's Sasuke though… Poor Kiba too.

Sasuke and I held hands and we circled each other, and then the music changed. Now this, I thought, this is music I know what kind of dance goes to it. I frowned. Apparently Sasuke did as well. There was yet another awkward moment in which we sort of just hung in one spot, trying to figure out what to do and then, when the music started picking up, Sasuke put his hand on my waist and I put my hand on his shoulder. We then circled as such. This was a lot more awkward than just holding hands. "I like this dance," I commented. "This is the sort of dance you always see at weddings."

Sasuke stiffened. Then relaxed, "Yeah." He said.

"So…" I said, "Sorry that I started dancing with Kiba…. He just asked so I decided to go for it."

Sasuke stiffened again. A very pissed expression crossed his face and I almost let go of his hand in shock, you don't normally see that kind of expression on Sasuke, but it was gone in a second. "Well," I said, "If it makes you feel better, you're a way better dancer than Kiba was. I mean, you're really good at the waltz! I only kind of learned at weddings."

He smiled.

"Well," I said, "That's yet another thing to add to the 'Sasuke's list of attractive features' list!"

Sasuke sighed, "That thing again? You and your lists."

"Oh," I said, "Come on! You should be grateful! I mean, I'm helping you! You might find me annoying and 'just like the other girls' I'm sure, and I know you hate it when I make you buy everything for me, but one day you'll have a girl you like and you'll have to buy stuff for her, and then!" I said, getting excited, "You'll buy her a really nice ring, and then you two will get married—" I gasped, "Oh my god!" I said, "One day you're going to get married, aren't you! That's such a scary thought… You know what?" I said, "You really will have to have me help you pick out the engagement ring, I mean, you guys are clueless when it comes to that stuff, and I want your girl to have the perfect ring… oh!" I said, "Can I design your wedding?"

"I—you—I—…" he said, flustered. "You're jumping to conclusions!"

"Huh?" I said, "Oh right," I said, "You _do_ sort of have to find a girl you like first before you marry her… don't you… well," I said, "Don't worry Sasuke," I said, "I'll help you find the perfect girl!"

He sighed, "What if I already found her?"

I halted, causing us both to stop abruptly. I blinked at him, "Already… found her?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow, "Well, yeah," he said, "You didn't think of that, did you?"

"I just…" I said, "I wasn't expecting… wait, this is a joke, right? Like one of those things that you're trying to catch me off guard but it isn't true, right?" I don't know why hearing him say he might already be in love with another girl make me feel like I was having a heart attack. "You gave me a heart attack there," I said, as we continued dancing.

"Why?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," I said, "All of a sudden this weird feeling came over me when you said that, it's like… I don't know…" The dance ended and we slowed to a stop, "It's like…it felt like you hit me or something."

He blinked.

Suddenly our faces were_ very_ close. I suddenly remembered back in the Chuunin Exams when I wondered whether I'd want my first kiss to be with Sasuke or not… and now, now that it's real, I didn't think it would be so bad... and then logic kicked in, about the same time as two loud boys.

Sasuke and wheeled backwards in surprise as Konohamaru jumped on me. "Grace!" he said, "Look what I found!!!" he lifted the fish bag, "Kiba gave it to me!"

"That's mine!" I cried, chasing him through the streets.

Sasuke clenched his fist.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, "What's the matter, Sasuke?"

"Nothing." Sasuke muttered.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I put up the last Christmas decoration.

"Aw!" I said, "The Christmas tree looks so nice!"

"Yeah," Sakura said, "Who knew that the Hokage had so many Christmas decorations!"

"Yeah!" I said, "Who knew, huh?"

"Hey, Grace," Sasuke said, when people started clearing out to go to their homes, "This is for you," he handed me a small box. I accepted him gratefully.

"Thank you!" I walked over to the tree and picked something, "Here, this is for you."

He took it, thanking me. "Merry Christmas," he said, a little awkwardly.

I grinned, "Merry Christmas, Sasuke!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOOooOo

END

Well, I apologize if Sasuke might have seemed a little OOC right now, but it's _really really really really_ hard to write a fluffy chapter and Sasuke being a main part of it _without_ him becoming a little OOC…. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I apologize for chapter 31 not being released, but it will this Friday, the 26 of December. Also, I'm going to write a New Years special as well… because I got inspiration while writing this chapter… it looks like fluff is contagious.

Well, I know what you're all thinking: why the hell didn't you just make them kiss? And the truth is… I just like being cruel. Besides, Grace was just sort of caught up in the moment and then 'logic' kicked in. Under any normal circumstances she would _ever_ kiss Sasuke. It was just 'in the moment' kind of moments….

Also…

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope you all have a_ very _Merry Christmas, and happy holidays!

Sincerely, fUnKyToEs


	32. Konoha Attacked: Part II

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: Konoha Attacked: Part II

WORDS: 3, 364 words

DISCLAIMER: (Apparently I was on the naughty list…) I don't own anything….

BEFOREWORD: Well, I'd like to say that I apologize for the lateness of this chapter, but I became so busy with the after holidays stuff, that I just didn't have the time to sit down, and when I did, I got that 'editing' fever that I get every once in a while in which I go crazy and start rewriting the chapter, worried that it isn't good enough, so this chapter took a few days to write, even though it wasn't that long, because I spent extra time writing the emotions of the characters… mainly two.

Well, enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hey guys," Pakkun said, turning to look at the two children following behind him. "Those scent of the Sound Ninja tracking us has disappeared." The pug-like small dog grinned, or what is closest to a grin. He is a dog, after all.

"Alright!" Naruto said, _Thanks… Shikamaru!_ He kicked off a branch, hoisting himself through the air.

Sakura smiled, nodding. The lazy ninja had proved on many occasions that he was more than capable to fend for himself. _Besides_, she thought, _I heard some of the proctors that would wonder through the area that we were waiting in during the finals, Shikamaru was a sure shot through. Those Sound ninja might have been Chuunin, or higher, but Shikamaru now was also a Chuunin. As is Naruto, _she realized. True, Naruto got quite the response from the Hokage and Genma. He was incredible out there. _I didn't even get a chance,_ she thought sadly. If she had fought, Anko had told her that she would surely reach Chuunin level. To think… she thought, I was so close. Sasuke and Naruto both got their chances, and they both passed… I'm always the one left behind…

"Heh!" Naruto barked happily again, "I knew Shikamaru would be alright! He did it! He was successful in stopping them in their tracks!" He laughed at the mental image of Shikamaru kicking Sound Ninja butt.

"That's great!" Sakura said, smiling. She frowned then, worry creasing her forehead. _Does that mean…_

"Hey," Naruto shouted at her, getting her attention, "Sakura, _he's alright._ I promise that Shikamaru isn't so easy to kill off as that!"

_Now all we need to do is catch up with Sasuke…_ Naruto thought. _Shikamaru… you better be alive and catch up to us._

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The girl silently shrieked as a branch snapped in half across the back of her head. She had grown hoarse from the frantic screaming she had omitted, and was already bleeding from the wounds she obtained from her journey, if one could call it that. Temari gritted her teeth. Although she wouldn't go so far as to call the girl a _friend_, she did have only fond memories of her, and therefore, it was painful to see her treated this way. But what would she do? Gaara, in his delirious unconscious state of mind had grabbed her and dragged her after them with his sand. Temari didn't know his reasons, except… it's obvious that the Uchiha kid cares for her, and perhaps that was why, but also…

Gaara, who was still unconscious, would not let her go. His sand trailed after them at an alarming speed, holding on to her around her abdomen. "What are we going to do about her?" Temari asked Kankuro, who was carrying Gaara.

Kankuro glanced over his shoulder. "There's nothing we can do. I don't have a clue why Gaara took her, but even if there isn't a reason; trying to release he would be suicide. Besides, Lord Orochimaru wanted her eventually, right? He instructed some of our men to take her, so I suppose it doesn't really matter that it was us."

"I _know_ that," Temari snapped, "And when you think about it, it's a perfect situation, the problem is that I doubt Orochimaru wanted her to be _killed_ in the process!"

Kankuro gritted his teeth. "Yeah, you're right. Let's just hope Gaara loosens his hold on her soon, or she'll die from the impact she's making on the scenery."

"I'm almost frightened what will happen when the Uchiha catches up with us." Temari said. She remembered the look that crossed the Uchiha's face when Grace was dared to kiss that dog boy. He looked like he wanted to kill himself from devastation, as well as kill the dog boy for threatening Grace and his relationship. Imagine what his reaction will be when he finds out they had been threatening her life? "We have to pick up our pace," Temari said, "Uchiha will not stop till we are dead when he catches up with us."

"Right," Kankuro said, and they quickened their pace.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

My eyes were only half open. Open? I flinched, not even bothering to scream as yet another twig tore at my eyelid. Luckily nothing bled, or I'm sure I would have lost an eye. Just… pain. I spat out blood, coughing as I fought for air. The sand around me was ever tightening its hold, causing breathing or anything for that matter unbearable. The scenery around me had no regard for my comfort either. I knew that Sasuke was probably coming after us, after all, his match against Gaara wasn't finished, so he'll probably want to go up against him again… and Naruto… he'll probably come after Sasuke to stop him and… Naruto will probably come after me to rescue me as well… I hope he'll come soon, I knew that Sasuke was no match for Gaara. I wanted _Naruto_. But I felt like… he wasn't going to get here in time.

And strangely enough, due to my most likely paranoia that was growing inside of me, I felt an unearthly calm. Like…this is it. I didn't _want_ it to go on. I'd rather die than it go on. I don't care anymore, as long as the _pain_ goes away. It doesn't matter.

I don't care about them anymore. All I wanted, was for it _all to go away._

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The huge serpentine monster crushed buildings as it slithered through the east wall of the city. It opened its mouth and hissed so loudly and powerful it ended up sounding like a deathly howl. Ibiki landed on the roof of a building, two ANBU landing behind him. "Damn it," Ibiki said, "We can't handle something this size, it's already nearly destroying the East Side."

As if a call of magic to Ibiki's words, a loud, reverberating voice echoed through the air.

"NINPOU! SUMMONING! WATCHTOWER DEMOLISHER JUTSU!"

A frog, twice the size of the snake, landed on it. The snake shrieked with anger and pain. Its mouth poured blood before it collapsed, dead, onto the ground. "This jutsu…" Ibiki said, "It can't be…"

"Well, well," The tall white haired man said from the back of the large frog, "Long time no see, eh… Ibiki… Geez, is your body the only thing that grew up? I can't stand to watch you!"

"Lord Jiraiya," Ibiki said.

"By Jiraiya," the ANBU on his right said, "You couldn't possibly mean…"

Jiraiya, seeing a chance, turned around, putting on the same face and position as he put on when he first met the Uzukami kid. "LITTLE CHIKADEES!! OPEN THEM SMALL EYES OF YOURS AS WIDE AS YOU CAN AND TAKE A REALLY, REALLY GOOD LOOK!!! BLESSED BE!!! IT'S THE TWILIGHT ZONE FLIGHT OF RAMPAGE!!!BY JIRAIYA, THE ALIEN SAGE NINJA!! ALL YOU SNAKES… FROZEN IN YOUR TRACKS BY THE GLARE OF FROG!!!" _He finally started_… Jiraiya thought, standing erect now and viewing the scene below him. _That Orochimaru._

He frowned. He had some idea what this was all about. Ibiki landed next to him. "What's Orochimaru's target?" he asked the younger man.

"Grace has informed us previously that his main objective is Sasuke Uchiha, but now I'm not so sure." Ibiki said, "I'm pretty sure that Grace is also his objective. I'm sure you know why."

"I do." Jiraiya said.

The two ANBU that landed next to Ibiki looked at each other, wondering what they were talking about. Sure, they were told that there was something… _special_ about the Hokage's granddaughter. That she was _knowledgeable_ about things that caused her to be in so much danger that she had to be guarded by Ryuichi, one of the best ANBU captains, rivaling Kakashi in intellect and strength. Even though the lower ranked ANBU weren't told the specific details, that fact alone said that she was the highest priority.

"Where's the Sandaime?" Jiraiya asked Ibiki.

"He's at the Arena," Ibiki said.

"I see…" Jiraiya said. _Don't be dying, now… Old man…_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kankuro and Temari jumped through the air. Gaara hung off of Kankuro's back, and, dangling out of the gourd, a string a sand that eventually connected to a large ball of sand. Inside that, only exposing her arms, chest, and head, was the girl that was the main object of worry for the two Sand siblings.

"Whoa!" Kankuro said, sliding to a halt.

Temari's heart jumped into her throat. _This is it._ She said.

Sasuke landed on the branch across from them. He landed hard, almost breaking it. It wasn't out of clumsiness, or out of a mishap. No, it was out of _anger. _

"Damn it…" Temari said.

"You can't escape!" Sasuke said, his expression close to demonic.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Sasuke's movement has stopped!" Pakkun said, after a slight moment of shock, "There's still a little ways to go but…!"

"ALL RIGHT!" Naruto shouted.

They jumped through the air with a new found energy, bounding even faster and faster with the rising feelings of hope. _What is this… this clump of numerous scents… this is_… "There's someone else besides us chasing Sasuke!" Pakkun said, a worried feeling filling his small body.

"What!?" Naruto shouted.

"Is it the enemy?! Or an ally!!?" Sakura asked, her eyes widening.

"I don't know… only…" Pakkun said.

"What?!" Naruto asked.

"It's not human!!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Grace's head hit a tree as the sand came to a stop behind the three Sand siblings. Sasuke visibly twitched as the sound of Grace's skull and the tree contact echoed through the woods. She was unconscious by now, of course, but the impact was still loud, albeit mainly because the electric silence.

Although only her upper body was showing, Sasuke could see cuts and bruises all over her visible body. God only knows the state of her body that is enclosed in the sand. He gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes. He couldn't even _speak_ for fear that he would lose all control.

Kankuro shifted Gaara off his back and handed him to Temari. He then removed the mummified puppet off his back and slammed the end onto the ground next to him. "Temari," he said, "Take Gaara and go ahead!"

"Yeah…" Temari said.

"Hey!" Sasuke yelled, but she left. The malleable form of Grace bouncing behind them in, and _any_ different situation, would have been a comical fashion. His fists tightened into balls, and when he released them in a unnatural calm way, blood dripped where his nails had cut into the flesh of his palm.

"Guess there's no helpin' it," Kankuro said, "I'll be your opponent!"

Sasuke opened his mouth but was cut off.

"No!" a voice said, a few meters away from him, "I'll be your opponent."

Sasuke's head whipped around to see Shino standing there. He had been so wrapped up with the image of the mangled Grace that he had let his senses down, not even noticing when a familiar presence approached them.

"It's you…" Kankuro said, recognizes the strange silent boy from the Chuunin exams, the boy he was supposed to fight against.

"Shino," Sasuke asked, "Why are you here?" He truly didn't care about the answer. He was just relieved the odd bug boy had come. Now, he thought, I'll actually be able to catch up with them…

Shino pointed at Sasuke. "Before you left the arena, I used some female bugs to spread their scent on you… the scent of the female is nearly non-existent… but the male of the species can smell it from miles away. I tracked you."

Kankuro gave a slightly petrified moan as he realized what it meant to fight the guy.

"Uchiha Sasuke…" Shino said, "You chase after the Hokage's granddaughter, after all, that is the point of your mission right? I'll fight this one… Since I was supposed to be his opponent anyway…"

Sasuke nodded. He glanced at Kankuro, wishing he had time to tear the head off of the older boy.

"Feh…" Kankuro said, skeptically.

Sasuke crouched, ready to spring into the air, when he gave Kankuro one last glare, "Don't think you're getting it easy," he said, deadly, "I'll be back to kill you." He disappeared.

Kankuro stared at the spot where the younger boy had been standing, sure that the Uchiha would be true to his words… that is, he thought, if he lived long enough. He started to laugh maniacally. "You guys have no idea!" he said, "I don't think you guys have experienced… _true terror!_"

"And so you want me to… experience that sort of terror?" Shino asked, stretching his arms out in front of him, preparing to release his bugs.

"No…" Kankuro said, in one move began unwrapping his puppet, "Wait 'till you defeat me and catch up with Gaara, you will experience it then… but you'll have to defeat me first!" _Kugutsu no jutsu!_ He thought, making a hand seal.

His puppet became fully unwrapped in a flurry of ribbon like bandages. Kankuro released his chakra, connecting said chakra to the puppet.

A small miniscule created crawled from under Shino's sleeve, exposing itself to the fleeting sunlight the littered down from the cage like rooftop of the forest. From far away, it would have looked completely black, but if examined closely, one would see that its head, legs and underside were of a lighter complexion. It was soon not alone. Thousands, and soon millions of bugs swarmed out from under Shino's sleeves, causing in arms to appear as if they were on fire, a black, deafening fire.

The two men looked at each other, prepared to fight.

"I am a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village," Shino said, "During battle, it doesn't matter how weak my opponent is, I won't underestimate him, I will fight all out!"

"Humph," Kankuro said, "Bring it on!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Temari saw light ahead and saw a small opening of light in the trees. Must be getting to a clearing, she thought, relieved. The faster they get away from Sasuke and this forest, the better.

She couldn't look behind to make sure the girl she had grown close to over this past month was even alive. Supporting Gaara was too much of a hassle, not to mention she did not have the room to turn her head. She wished more than anything that the girl wasn't there. She knew it was orders that someone, preferably the Sound Ninja, take her hostage but… _I didn't want anything to happen to her_, Temari thought, bitterly, _It's not often you make a friend_.

The skin where Gaara's eyebrows _should_ have been twitched, "Temari…" he rasped, "Put me down…"

"Hey Gaara, you're awake?" she asked. She didn't dare ask him to release the girl, but boy did she want to…

She stopped on a large branch, setting Gaara on his feet gently. He slumped to a crouching position, clutching the right side of his head, his face contorting in pain and anger. _The thing that was inside Gaara's body… is going to awaken! I have no idea when it's going to fully emerge…This is bad… I'm all alone out here, I can't handle __**that**__ thing all on my own. _ She glanced behind herself for the first time since taking Gaara from Kankuro, _And you can bet your life that __**she'll**__ be dead if Gaara even realizes that she's there._

Gaara, in almost a shock, looked behind himself so fast that his neck cracked. The girl… limp. Just lying there, in his sand… the image was practically begging him to tear her apart. "Temari…" he said, "Scram!"

"What?!" Temari asked.

"JUST GET OUT OF THE WAY!" he swept an arm around and there was a sickening crunch as the impact of his arm and her stomach made contact. In one swift motion Temari was lifted and thrown fifteen meters away into the trunk of a tree. He lifted his head to glare at the girl, his sand obediently dragged her forehead, not caring for the branches and twigs that were in the way. This girl… he remembered, from the countless times he had watched Sasuke train and go about his business, that this girl was… someone not to be harmed. This girl was someone, that if harmed, would cause Sasuke to go past the boundaries of sanity.

This was the reason for Gaara kidnapping the girl. He wanted to hurt her, yes. Ever since he first laid eyes on her and the demon within him began to scream at him to tear her limb from limb, make her _scream_ in agony. Make her cry for her Sasuke, and be helpless. He want to make her _bleed_. He wanted to _squeeze_ all the blood out of her until she was a shriveled pathetic dry mass. He wanted crush her skull in, twist her ribs, cut her mouth, puncture her eyeballs, bend her feet backwards, rip out her hair, twist her neck, and _kill _her.

But most of all, he wanted _Sasuke_ to all of this, and be _completely helpless_.

This was a new kind of life that he wanted to experience. True, there were people, that, when killed, gave him the uncontainable emotion of _life_. But this was different. Never before was he driven by such a monomaniac desire to torture someone by exterminating the one they loved. This…he started to laugh demonically, _this is what life is supposed to feel like!_

The girl reached him and he grabbed her hair, wrenching her forewords towards him. He paused for a moment, staring down at the girl with curiosity. What was it about this girl that caused her to attract so many people to be her _friends_? Even the girl who was born of the same woman as he was… became close to her. Why does everyone want her _alive_ so badly? His mouth stretched into an uncanny demonic grin, _Wouldn't it be so much funner… just to kill you?!_

The sand let go, so the only thing keeping the girl dangling in the air was Gaara, holding her by her hair. He shook her, laughing as she seemed to dance in the air like a drunken marionette. It was surprising that she didn't wake up. He glowered. He wanted her to wake up. He wanted her to _scream_. He wanted her to _scream_ Sasuke's name, and for him to be helpless before he too dies.

He looked up, and saw before him the rigid figure of a boy dressed in black. Sasuke could barely hold himself up, his right hand clasping a tree so tightly that his abnormally pale skin whitened even further than imaginable. It was not out of fatigue, but out of unimaginable and indescribable infuriation. His face, Gaara saw, echoed his own crazed expression.

_Finally_, Gaara rasped in his mind. His thought screamed for released as they tore at the walls in his mind. The thoughts that screamed for the blood of the two people in front of him. The thoughts that screamed for the blood of every living creature in the world. The thoughts that screeched and clawed at the metal, empty chasms of his mind.

_So this…_ he thought_, this is what it means to be alive!_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

My, that was a short chapter… END

Ok, thanks for reading! I apologize if chapter was shorter, I was going to have it be much longer, but I decided this was a good place to stop at. For once it's not a cliffhanger!!!! Not a bad one, anyway. OK! If you guys want a New Years Special then REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW and tell me! I'll do it if enough people want it.

I put a lot of effort in this chapter to… elaborate on Gaara's insanity. I feel like too many fanfictions out there romanticize Gaara, and I wanted to make him terrifying, or at least stay true to his true nature. Also, I didn't want you guys to think he kidnapped Grace because he liked her or anything, but because he had no other purpose but to torture her and Sasuke.

Right, well, hope you all are enjoying your vacation (if you're on vacation)

fUnKyToEs


	33. Konoha Attacked: Part III

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: Konoha Attacked: Part III

WORDS: 3, 055

DISCLAIMER: …………………………… (is just staring at screen)

BLAH: Well, yes, I got this chapter in late, I apologize… I have midterms next week, so prep work is WAY overload. Besides that… I got nothing new. To those who reviewed but didn't get a respond, I apologize, I got so distracted that I forgot whom I replied to and to whom I did not… I'll keep up with it in the future and I appreciate your reviews!!!! Enjoy! (although it's not an 'enjoyable' chapter…)

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Gaara halted in the shaking of the marionette to look upwards, his eyes stretching in their sockets as they glared up at the boy standing ten meters away and ten meters higher than him. This was it. A small evil smile twitched the sides of Gaara's mouth, and then the smile clawed at his face, covering it all. He laughed manically and tightened his grip on the marionette's strings. The two boys made eye contact. Gaara knew by the expression on Sasuke's face, that the boy was almost there. He was almost to _his_ level of insanity. So close…

Gaara shrieked as pain resonated in his skull, screaming at him. With the unused hand he clawed at it, grasping it so tightly. With the other, controlling the broken marionette, he threw the marionette against the tree, and then let go, letting the marionette slide down the trunk and lay limp on the branch at Gaara's feet. A curious thing happened, Gaara noted through the pain, the marionette _bled_. He almost laughed, it _bled_. It made him so happy that he could make an inanimate object bleed and feel pain. He wanted it to be _awake_ so he could make it scream.

"Grace!" Sasuke shouted. "You damn bastard!" he said, "I'll kill you!"

Gaara began to laugh again.

Temari shifted, opening her eyes, _Isn't that Sasuke… what's going on?_ She asked herself, confused and dazed from the blow she received to the head. She looked over to see Grace, huddled, at the other side of Gaara. She flinched when she saw the condition the older girl was in. _That girl_, _she_ thought, is going to have a lot of pain when she wakes up._ Knowing Gaara… that will be soon._ "That Kankuro…" she whispered, "Has he…" She didn't want to think of the fact that her younger brother was probably dead. _I have to get Grace out of here, but there's no way of doing it without killing myself!_

"Also…" Sasuke said, "I want to see your true face."

Gaara gritted his teeth, an inaudible growl escaping through the tightly closed teeth. His face began to crack, much like that of an egg shell, and a string of drool escaped out of his mouth, like a waterfall. He glared at the black haired boy.

_It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, but Gaara didn't pay attention to any of that. Why would he? It was just a nuisance after all. What mattered were the two people training. _

"_What drives you?" he asked the object of his monomania. "Why do you seek power…?"_

_Sasuke and Kakashi looked at him a contemplating manor. Sasuke in particular stared long and hard at what would be his opponent in the final exam. "It's none of your concern," Sasuke said, finally, "Just get lost… don't get in the way of my training!"_

_Gaara turned around, "Your eyes have the same look as mine… the need tos eek out power, the determination and the bloodlust… you're just like me…"_

_Sasuke just narrowed his eyes._

"_But…" Gaara said, "There's something else in your eyes, something I don't have… something that I will enjoy taking from you…"_

"You, that is strong… you, that have companions… you, that has ambition… you, that has love… you, that is like me… Once I kill you… I will be the one to have destroyed all of that! Only then can I survive! Only then can I feel _ALIVE!_"

Sasuke blinked.

"Ugh!" Gaara said, falling to his knees in pain. He hobbled over to the trunk, using it, and the marionette, to support himself as he transformed. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock at the monstrous creature that was bursting out of Gaara's own flesh and skin. The marionette was now almost completely hidden behind the massive sand creature.

_It's starting…_ Temari thought, horrified. _Grace… she needs to get out of there… she's… _

Gaara's arm exploded into a tremendous grotesque sand arm. It bubbled as it grew, and with Gaara's other hand and the rest of the sand grasped desperately for the marionette, in a way that could almost be mistaken for caressing, if the motives were more than to make sure that she was still there, and still in pain.

_Grace…_ Sasuke thought to himself, recovering from the shock, _Looks like this battle won't end as quickly as I thought…_ His fists opened and closed as Grace's head completely disappeared inside of the sand.

And then, brandishing his 'muscled' sand arm, Gaara stepped away from the tree. Grace seemed to flip against the trunk, held there by a large claw, new scrapes on her from where the sand had rubbed against her skin. Sasuke gritted his teeth, half of her face was literally red from the top few layers of skin rubbed clean off, and one could see the red/pink muscle and tissue underneath. If only… but he new that to charge now and try to get her out would be futile, it would only anger Gaara. Sasuke was at a disposition. Grace was at the captive's mercy. If Sasuke made the wrong move, Gaara could crush Grace like an ant, and Sasuke knew Gaara would do it. And yet, Sasuke knew that he had to fight Gaara, and if he didn't, Gaara would crush Grace anyway.

_Looks like there's nothing else to do,_ Sasuke thought, _It looks like I can't just go in and rescue her, I'll have to fight and kill Gaara first in order to ensure that Grace will be alive once I reach her…_ the thought was not pleasant.

A bright, yellow eye glared up at him, and Sasuke gulped. _It's the same eye as before…_Gaara crouched, and then sprung towards Sasuke at an alarming speed. Gaara let out a blood curdling shriek, and Sasuke, not expecting the sudden attack, barely dodged. Sand and dust flew everywhere in an explosion as Gaara collided with the tree. A huge hole was left, causing the tree to look as if someone had taken a large bite out of it. The hole proved too big, and the top part of the tree collapsed onto itself and fell with an echoing _bam_. Sasuke coughed as he hid in the temporary protection of a nearby tree. He glanced around it for a second, checking to make sure that Grace was hit by anything. He bit his lip as some debris fell off her face, but from what he could see, nothing else but dust hit her. _That's good,_ he breathed. He had to lead the fight away from Grace, who knows what would happen if she ended up in the crossfire, and yet… who knows what would happen to her if he wasn't able to keep an eye on her? He had to be able to make sure she was alright… and he knew that Gaara wouldn't want to fight without having him worried about Grace's safety and keeping an eye on her. Sasuke knew that the reason the sadistic 'human' had Grace in the first place was to torment Sasuke. _Which means_… he thought, _I'm in a very difficult situation… I can't lead the battle away from her, because I need to constantly make sure she's ok… but I can't have the fight too close in case I, or Gaara, accidentally hit her… which would probably please Gaara... If only we weren't in a forest, then I would be able to put some distance between us and still be able to keep her within eyesight._

"Are you afraid of me?" Gaara half shrieked with malicious joy in the forest, "Sasuke… Uchiha!" there was a pause, but it wasn't out of worry or sudden thought, "Afraid of my _existence_?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, remembering what the red haired ninja had spoken to him about before the final exams…

"_Don't forget," Gaara said, turning around and starting to walk away, "You're my prey…"_

"_Hold it!" Sasuke shouted after him. Gaara halted in his tracks. _

"_Why… What is it you want from me?" Sasuke asked, exhausted from his training. They looked at each other for a moment, neither speaking. _

"_Your eyes tell me that you know what true loneliness is…"_

_Sasuke's eyes widened in shock, and in sudden unexplainable anger._

"_Further more…" Gaara continued, turning to face Kakashi and Sasuke now, "You also know that such solitude is the worst possible pain in the world. I've told you… you have the same eyes as I do… The eyes, filled with hatred and death, that longing for strength… You're eyes are just like mine. They tell me how badly you wish to destroy the one who put you through the hell called loneliness…" _

_Sasuke gritted his teeth. _

"_Alright, timeout!" Kakashi cut in, "Gaara, isn't it? Well, I don't care what you think you know about Sasuke… but you shouldn't talk as if you can see Sasuke's inner self! What was it you're trying to accomplish, coming all this way out here before your match?"_

"_Fighting is all about… putting the lives of others and your own on the line… to fight to the death… only then can the victor be assured of the meaning of his existence…"_

"_So your saying," Kakashi said, frowning under his mask, "That you want a death match instead of a tournament, is that it?"_

"_Uchiha…" Gaara said, "You too must be wondering if you're strong enough… to destroy the person you're dying to kill…"_

"_Ok," Kakashi butted in again, "Look, I know Sasuke has some priority issues, but don't go around talking like that's all he cares about, don't forget, he has something much stronger than that, something you can never imagine."_

_Gaara, for the first time, turned his gaze upon the Jonin. "I see that… I said it before; I see it in his eyes. He has something that I never had… he has a weakness. Companions, __**friends**__, __**love**__, it is all a weakness… I see that these things are slowly consuming you, taking over. This… that __**person**__ is making you forget your purpose… and the more you forget… I will break it! I will rip that out of you, because before you die, I want you to experience that __**loneliness**__ all over again!"_

So that was what he was talking about… Sasuke thought to himself, as Gaara continued on his rampage.

"WHAT'S THE MATTER?" he shrieked again, "ARE YOU AFRAID OF ME?!" Gaara took a few gasps of air as drool seemed to pour out of his mouth, "Has your fear overtaken the hatred, the killing urge? Has your fear taken over the _love_? Is your reason for existence as puny as that?"

Sasuke pushed himself up.

"IF YOU CRAVE FOR AN ANSWER… COME AND GET ME!!!" Gaara finally screamed. "OR HAS THIS _THING_ CLOUDED YOUR MIND? HAS IT CAUSED TO FORGET YOUR HATE? CAUSED TO YOU BECOME _**WEAK?!?!**_"

Sasuke closed his eyes. _Weak_… His eyebrows convulsed as he squeezed his eyelids tighter in anger.

"YOU NO LONGER HAVE THE HATE TO KILL ME?!" Gaara shrieked.

Sasuke's hand tightened to fists. _Weak… was it true?_ He made a hand seal, and another, _It was intentional... only I was left alive… but for what reason? What is my reason for living now?_

Friends?

Grace?

_No… I know why… He let me live so that he doesn't have to feel the guilt about killing an entire clan…_

Gaara's head whipped in one direction as he heard what appeared to be a multiple of chirping birds.

_My brother Itachi chose me to be the avenger… The sole reason for my existence… is to hunt him, and TO DESTROY HIM!_

Sasuke activated his sharingan. Then, both yelling incomprehensible shouts of exertion, they charged at each other.

Sasuke shot through Gaara's sand arm, and in a moment between the madness, Sasuke wondered if the sand would turn to glass. Gaara's shriek broke the momentary tranquility. Gaara fell backwards and landed on a large tree branch. It broke, and he landed, not quite as hard, on the next one below it. Sasuke landed softly on another branch, ten meters away, and looked back. His eyebrows contracted with confusion.

Instead of wallowing in pain and agony, Gaara actually… seemed to enjoy himself. He laughed with glee. His laughed turned more…demonic as he gazed at his shredded arm. "I see…" He laughed, not out of amusement but out of pure enjoyment of the situation. "…so that's what it was!"

Temari shrunk back into the bushes once again, petrified, "Impossible!" she said, shuddering, "He countered the transformed Gaara?"

"The reason why I'm so excited…" Gaara continued, clutching the sand arm, "I just got the answer!"

Sasuke breathed heavily, regaining his breath. He stared at the monster with growing confusion, trying to analyze the enemy.

Gaara trembled, "It's this pain…" His mouth, face, everything about him was no longer human. Half of his face resembled human, while the rest melted into a hideous creature whose own mother would have turned away in disgust. "Defeating a man strong enough to hurt me… and utterly destroy him and all he _**treasures**_… THAT'S WHAT GIVES ME AN EVEN GREATER SERNSE OF EXISTANCE!!"

Temari clutched her hand to hand, _He wounded Gaara not only once… but twice… he is a monster! _She shook uncontrollably_, No… the real monster is… after all, Gaara has transformed only his right arm…_

"MORE! MORE! MORE! MORE! I WANT MORE!" Gaara screamed, his arm reforming itself. Sand _swooshed_ out of his gourd and formed a tail, much larger and more powerful than the arm.

_What the hell is he? _Sasuke thought, _He keeps changing shape…_

"HERE I COME!" Gaara jumped off the branch, breaking it, and flew towards Sasuke.

_He's faster than before…_ Sasuke thought in shock, moments before Gaara whip lashed him in the air. Sasuke grunted in pain, then, upside down, used his chakra to stand on the tree. Gaara elongated his arm, aiming for the boy. _Dodging his attacks would be futile without these eyes… reading his movements… without them, I would have been dead long ago. Since the tournament, that last one was the second, so Chidori is out of the question. _He took a deep breath in then blue out of huge ball of fire towards the sand ninja. Gaara deflected, or absorbed, Sasuke couldn't quite tell, the fire with ease. _Looks like it's useless to use fire… besides a jutsu of that level isn't…I knew it… Chidori is the only way after all…_Too late. Sasuke blocked in future as Gaara punched him in the gut, sending him flying.

"_Well," Kakashi said, "It seems your limit is at two shots."_

_Chakra receded from Sasuke's hand, and it shook from pain and fatigue. "Damn…" He muttered as he grasped it, trying to block the pain. His hand still shook uncontrollably. _

"_At your present chakra level, that's the most amount of times you can use Chidori in a day…In any case… this is a jutsu that can't be used in a real fight unless you have the sharingan as well… However, using the sharingan and other jutsu at the same time is… just the same amount as consuming all your chakra by detonating it inside your body…"_

_Sasuke looked at his hands, feeling the power flow through his body as he felt the sill present chakra. It was like when you run a mile, and even though you stopped, you can still feel your heart pumping in your chest, or the blood in your veins. _

"_Still, you're pretty impressive," Kakashi said, "Even I use up all my chakra when I use Chidori…"_

_Sasuke glanced at him through the corner of his sleep-deprived exhausted eyes, "What would happen to me… if I tried a third time?"_

_There was no immediate response, then, "There would be no third one… never forget that. When you try to strain the activation of a jutsu… not only will the jutsu fail… but you also will lose all the remaining chakra that may be left within you." He looked at the large stone pillars, "And you life, in the worst-case scenario."_

Sasuke once again pushed himself up into a sitting position, leaning against the tree, and breathing heavily.

"Is this all your existence means to you?" Gaara asked, "Let me make it clear for you then… You are _**weak**_… You're too soft… because you're hate isn't strong enough. The power to hate is the power to kill… the power to kill is the power of vengeance. YOUR HATRED IS WEAKER THAN MINE!" Gaara shouted.

"Shut up," Sasuke spat.

"It's your little toy here," Gaara said, "It has made you weak! It has clouded your mind!" he shouted, "THIS _**THING**_ HAD MADE YOU WEAK!"

Sasuke opened his eyes, sharingan activated. _It's true…_ he said, _Until now… I almost forgot._

Lighting formulated in his hand, illuminating his face, _but no more…_

He closed his eyes one more time before the final countdown.

_Forgive me… Grace._

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

END

Yeah, I know, short chapter… BUT THAT WAS THE PERFECT SPOT TO END!!! I couldn't resist…

Anyway, AH! I was so busy after vacation, I'm sorry I wasn't able to get the chapter in faster, midterms are next weak so I had a crazy load of prep work… also, if I'm a little late on next week, I've not forgotten, it's just I have midterms, as well as I'm getting certified as a lifeguard, so I have training after school… yeah, perfect timing, huh? Sigh.

Well, here's the DRAMATIC part so far… what's going on? Has Sasuke changed his mind about Grace? Does he still feel the same way about her? Has he replaced her with what she originally replaced? What is going to happen? Keep reading to find out!

Right, hope you liked the chapter, and a very happy birthday to Might Guy and Haku, who's birthdays were these past two weeks.

fUnKyToEs


	34. Konoha Attacked: Part IV

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: Konoha Attacked: Part IV

WORDS: 8, 553 words (YOU BETTER BE GRATEFUL!)

DISCLAIMER: I think, after writing so much I should be relieved of this obligation… sigh… I don't own _anything_—there, I said it, _God_

BLAH: I just couldn't stop writing, which is why I'm posting this late, so I apologize to all of those I promised to update on Friday, but to all of those that I promised a longer chapter… well, here you go!!!! I'm not too pleased with this chapter…the next one will hopefully be better. Well, enjoy.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Forgive me… Grace…_ Sasuke thought as, deafened by the Chidori and blood dripping from his mouth, he and Gaara closed in towards each other, _this is for you…_

They collided.

Seconds later, the both landed on branches, backs towards each other, a few meters away.

Sasuke's body shuddered, and a grin spread across Gaara's face. The sand arm seemed to slide off of him, but he didn't care. Sasuke, the Chidori still humming in his hand, tore at the left shoulder and hand. Gaara let out a groan of pain as sand formed on his other arm to create another sand arm. He glanced behind himself. Sasuke's Chidori had disappeared, and the boy collapsed onto the branch, grasping the left side of the neck, where red and black markings began to spread.

_I can't… move…_ Sasuke thought, his body shuddering and shivering with pain. His eyes moved over to where Grace was 'tied' to the tree by one of the sand claws, hating himself.

Gaara jumped up and landed next to her, the branch creaking from the sudden weight. _This…_ he thought, _this is what I've been waiting for…_ "Are you ready Uchiha?" Gaara said. "Are you ready for me to feel alive? Are you ready to feel _weak_?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth, his body non-responsive.

Gaara body convulsed in joyful apprehension. One of the claws reached out and delicately grasped Grace's little toe on her right foot.

And tore.

At that moment, Grace's eyes widened as far as they could go and she opened her mouth. A blood curdling scream slammed all other noises out. Her mouth formed words, but nothing could be understood, it was as if she were speaking nonsense, or speaking in a language only described by pain.

Sasuke felt something rip at his insides. He felt so _helpless_. So _weak._

Gaara laughed manically. And, in a crazy rage, tore off the next toe, twisting it as it separated from the foot, so the little bit of bone that was left was mutilated. The screaming renewed, louder.

Sasuke closed his eyes.

Another, and another, till all that was left was her big toe. The claw, always careful and delicately, wrapped around it, and slowly, very, _very_ slowly, began to twist. The bone, crunching, could be heard even where Sasuke was. The skin cracking, the muscles tearing… Gaara loved it!

Gaara flew back, away from the tree as Naruto sent him a spinning side kick. Naruto landed on the tree, and then shouted, "Grace!" And rushed towards her. The Sand surrounded her completely covered her, making it impossible for Naruto to approach. "Damn it!"

Sakura landed next to Sasuke, "Sasuke!" she said as Pakkun landed next to her, a second behind. "What's happened?"

"He's in bad condition," Pakkun said, "We should get him out of here as fast as possible."

"What about Grace," Sakura said.

Pakkun turned and glanced at the tree, "Unfortunatley," he said, "There's really no way we can gain access to her, the only way is the defeat Gaara… Which I'm not even sure if we have a chance at doing, looking at Sasuke's injuries." _ We were a bit too late, it seems…_ he thought bitterly.

"Gu…" Sasuke moaned, trying to push himself up, "You two…"

Sakura looked at him and then noticed, with a shock, the curse seal marks. _This is… he must've fought out of control… like that time in the Chuunin Exams! When Orochimaru… _ She was not there for the initial bite, but she heard about what happened from Naruto and Neji. She also… arrived to find Sasuke battling with these marks. "But Kakashi-sensei and Grace said that the mark was taken care of!" she said, worried. She might be slowly letting go of any hope of her and Sasuke getting together, due to her friendship with Grace, but Sasuke was still very close to her.

"Sa… Sakura! SAKURA!" Naruto shouted, trying to get her attention.

Sakura whipped around, "What is it?" she snapped, irritated.

"Who is that?" Naruto asked, pointing to Gaara, "_That _can't be Gaara, right?"

"Although his figure has been transformed, he's the one named Gaara." Pakkun said.

"So he… attacked Sasuke and Grace…" Sakura said.

Naruto gritted his teeth. He had his suspicions that this could be the Gaara they were tracking down, but he didn't expect… _this will be harder than I thought…_

"I'll just tell you now," Pakkun said, turning to Sakura, "I'm not a battle-type dog."

"I can tell just by looking at you!!!" Sakura snapped. She looked down at Sasuke. She wanted to bring him back to safety, but she couldn't leave Naruto fighting alone, nor could she forsake her mission by leaving Grace. "Pakkun," She said, "You watch over Sasuke, and I'll keep an eye on Grace, looking for any openings."

"Alright." Pakkun said.

Sasuke coughed blood.

"_Even if you survive using the Chidori a third time… you will face difficulties no matter what. Especially because you have…" Kakashi trailed off._

"_The curse seal?" Sasuke finished. _

_Kakashi nodded. _

"_If you give in the hatred and depend on the power of the curse seal… that'll be it for your strength growth. In that case… you can never defeat Itachi…_"

_I…_ Sasuke thought,_ I have to control this…_

Naruto glanced worriedly at Grace or what he could see of her. _There's no way I can get her out, _he thought, eyeing the spikes, _I'll just have to kick this guys ass first._

"You… you're the one I failed to kill that time…" Gaara said.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"_I fight for my sake only; I live only for no one but myself. As long as there are still people left to kill in the world… my existence will never end!"_

Naruto took a step back, sweat rolling down his face, "Sakura… Sakura GET BACK!" But it was too late; Naruto barely avoided the sand monster as I whipped past him, towards the nearly unconscious Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura turned her head slowly, as if realizing before the initial realization what was going to happen.

"Die! Sasuke Uchiha!" Gaara yelled, aiming straight for the boy.

_I have to protect Sasuke! _ Sakura said, _for him… for Grace._ She stood in front of Sasuke, squeezing a kunai in her hands, holding it in front of her.

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted.

Gaara was inches away from slicing Sakura through, when suddenly, his vision blinked. In a rage he body slammed into Sakura, sending her flying. She hit the tree, and was held there for a moment, till she fell down. Temari, watching from a distance, hurried over and snatched her before the girl could fall to the ground or Gaara could comprehend what just happened.

Temari, with the unconscious Sakura held tightly against her, breathed heavily against a tree. She was lucky that she got to the pink haired girl in time, and, of course, that Gaara didn't kill her in the process. _ I lucked out._ She glanced down at the girl. Sakura would be no use in this battle… and neither would she. Both would only get in the way, and, in the best scenario, probably die. _I'll take her back, _Temari said, _Then return to get Gaara out of here._ She glanced back at where Naruto was removing Sasuke from the branch he was laying on, _Naruto… if you're capable of stopping him… do so. For Grace._

Temari jumped and rushed out of the area, carrying Sakura with her.

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted again, holding Sasuke's arms gently. _It seems…_ Naruto thought, _that the sand girl carried her off… she's a friend of Grace… but she's also an enemy… well, she did save Sakura from the fall. I can't think of that right now,_ He looked at the sand monster that was turning around to face him, _I have bigger fish to fry. _

"Why?" Gaara said, "Why do you…"

_Kids laughed as a ball was kicked. There were around four children, all friends and enjoying themselves on the playground. Only one child was left along, on a swing, clutching a teddy bear in his arms. _

"_Pass it!"_

"_Oh Crap!" _

_The ball lodged itself in a crook in the wall, too high for any of them, even if they got the tallest ladder, for them to retrieve. _

"_What do we do?" One asked._

"_We haven't mastered wall climbing no jutsu yet…" another complained. Their fun and games were now over, disappointed, they were prepared to go home, or find an adult to get it down for them. They blinked and stared as a mass of sand drifted up the grab the ball, slowly bringing it down and plopping it down into a small boy's hands. They kids stared for a moment, then, when the realized who exactly rescued their ball, the all took a step back._

"_You… you are…" one bravely thought out loud. _

_Gaara held it out, shyly, using the ball to shield most of his face. _

"_Ga… Gaara!" _

"_You're Gaara!"  
_

"_It's Gaara of the sand…"_

"_R…" _

_The children seemed frozen, and then when one kid shouted, "Run for it!" they sprang into motion, spinning around and speeding towards the other end of the playground, and, they hoped, as far away from the demon child as possible. _

_Gaara reached out to them, horrified and panicked, "Wait!" he called. __**Don't leave me alone!!**__ His sand automatically reached out along with him and grabbed the children, halting them in their tracks, causing them to fall flat on their face. __**I don't want to be alone anymore…**_

_Sand closed in on a boy, but before the death blow could be delivered, a man intervened. "Lord Gaara! Please calm yourself!" _

_Gaara blinked. Blood dripped down from the face and arms of the man. Gaara looked down at the ground. _

"Why…" he said again, "What is it that's so important…_"_

_A picture. The only momentum of his mother he had left that was positive. He lifted the knife, staring at it, and then, the black space his eyebrows should have been contorted and he slammed the knife down upon his wrist. But it never made contact. "It's no use…" he said, disappointed, "The sand gets in the way."_

"_Lord Gaara…"  
_

_Gaara turned around, startled. _

"_As a member of your medical team at Lord Kazekage's command, my duty is to protect you from any harm… please do not try to do such a thing, it hurts me to see you treat yourself that way! Although I suppose the sand would just protect you anyway…" he laughed and rubbed the back of his head. _

"_Yashamaru… I'm sorry," Gaara said, apologetically. "Do injuries… hurt?"_

_Yashamaru blinked and touched the bandage on his head, "Oh this… well, a little I suppose, but it's nothing serious."_

"_Hey, Yashamaru…"_

"_Yes?"_

_"What is… pain?" Gaara paused, then continued, "What… exactly is pain? I never got injured before…" Gaara explained, "So… I wonder what it's like…"_

_Yashamaru rubbed his chin, trying to figure out the best route for the explanation, "Hmm… how should I put it… Afflictive… or dreadful, like when you've been beaten or cut… in short, you're in an unbearable condition in which you feel like you're unable to stay in your usual self… I can't explain it very well but… I think I can say that it's unpleasant…"_

_Gaara bit his lower lip, looking at the bandages on his uncle's arm and face. _

"_Yashamaru…" He said, almost scared for the answer, "Then… do you… hate me?"_

_Yashamaru blinked and stared down at him, shocked. _

"_Although it doesn't bleed… this part hurts so much," Gaara said, clutching at his robes over his heart. _

_Yashamaru frowned sadly. He knelt down, and took the knife from Gaara. He gently sliced a small sliver in his finger, blood swelling out of it. Gaara, shocked and horrified, watched as the blood dripped of the finger like water over a rock. "Bodies bleed upon physical injuries, and they may look quite hurtful, but eventually the pain will wear off as time passes, and they can heal even faster with medical aids." With his other hand, Yashamaru laid it on his chest, "What are more serious are emotional scars… they are the hardest to heal."_

"_Emotional scars?" Gaara asked, worried. _

"_Physical and emotional scars are a bit different… unlike the physical ones, there's no ointment available for emotional ones… and the pain may never go away."_

_Gaara's hand drifted back to his heart, his eyes downcast. _

"_There is only one thing, that can stop such a heartache," Yashmaru said. _

_Gaara looked up, hopeful and surprised. _

"_However, as inconvenient as it may seem, this cure can only be given to you by someone other than yourself…"_

"_What is it?" Gaara asked, "How can I get it?"_

_Yashamaru turned his head slightly, looking at the picture of his almost identical older sister, "It's love, Gaara."_

"Why do you go through all this work…" Gaara continued, "Just to save…"

"_Love?" Gaara asked, confused._

"_Yes," Yashamaru said._

"_H… how can I receive that?" Gaara asked._

"_Lord Gaara," Yashamaru laughed, "You are already receiving it."_

"_Huh?" Gaara gasped, startled. _

_  
"Love is… care and devotion you feel for the precious ones around you. Like my sister had for you…" _

_Gaara looked at the picture of his mother, a slight flush appearing on his face as he looked at it with a new light. "I believe," Yashamaru continued, "That she loved you so very much… the sand Shukaku is primarily a living spirit specialized in attacks. It's automatic perfect defense is a proof of maternal affection… your mother's will remained in the sand to protect you. My dear sister…" Yashamaru frowned, "Even in death… she wanted to be there for Lord Gaara."_

_There was a moment of silence. _

"_Yashamaru… about today, thank you."_

"_What for?" Yashamaru asked._

"_For stopping me," Gaara said, smiling. _

_Yashamaru put the finger in his mouth to stop the bleeding, "You're very welcome," he said, his words muffled slightly from the finger, "After all, Lord Gaara, you are my precious one!"_

"_Hey, Yashamaru, I have a favor to ask…"_

"Why is she… so important?" Gaara asked.

_The little boy ran through the streets, smiling to himself as he clutched a bag of ointment tight against his chest, careful not to drop and destroy it. He reached a door and knocked on it. One of the kids opened it, and peered out. _

_Gaara smiled, "I'm sorry about earlier… that must've hurt a lot, here, please use this ointment…"_

"_Go away you monster!" the kid shouted, slamming the door in Gaara face.  
_

_Gaara stood there, shocked, and then, slowly, the jar of ointment slipped out of his hands and made a clanging noise on the ground. He just turned around and left, as if in a daze. He walked through the now almost silent streets of the Village Hidden in the Sand, when a drunken man sauntered by him, nearly crashing into him._

"_Hey!" the man shouted, "Watch it, you little bra…" the man cut himself off as he took a good look at the short child that he almost bumped into. "Wait…" the man said, backing up, "You… you are!"_

_**Those eyes again**__… Gaara thought, glaring into the drunken mans eyes, __**Why… Why…**_

"_H… Hey!" the man shouted as sand began to swirl around him. The bottle of alcohol that he was carrying crashed to the ground, breaking into a hundred pieces, the liquid pouring out and sinking into the ground. It was hard to distinguish between the alcohol, and the blood that was mixing together while painting the sand. _

"_What happened!?" people shouted as they swarmed to the crime scene like bees to honey. _

"_I… It's Gaara!" one woman shouted._

"_Hey, this guy's dead!"_

_Gaara kept walking, ignoring the panicked civilian's exclamations. He looked up, and then quickly looked away in shame and in hurt when his eyes met with those of his father. _

_He sat upon the roof of a building, pondering. __**I knew it…**__ he thought, __**It doesn't go well at all… **__ he looked at his shaking hands, __**How come… how come I am the only monster?**__ He covered his face with his hands, __**What… exactly am I?**_

_**There is only one thing**__, Yashamaru had said, __**There is only one thing that can stop such a heartache… and that's love.**_

"_Yashamaru…" Gaara whimpered. His body jumped in fright and surprise as kunai pummeled the sand that was now protecting his back. He turned around to face whatever it was that attacked him, and too his horror, saw a Sand shinobi. __**What…**__**Why?**__ He asked himself, his eyes darkening, __**Why me?**__ A vein popped out on his forehead, __**Why only me?**__ His sand slammed into the attacker, sending him flying, while in the process tearing at his middle. The attacker slammed into the pillar behind him, and then fell to the ground, bleeding uncontrollably from the middle. _

_**Who… why?**__ Gaara asked, approaching. His hand was shaking when it pulled the cloth mask off the ninja. _

_Blood poured from Yashamaru's mouth, due to permanent damage to the internal organs. "Very… impressive… Lord… Gaara," Yashamaru managed to get out. _

_Gaara just stood there, his eyes as wide as they could go, horrified beyond belief. His hand grasped the cloth above his chest so tightly that it actually tore the cloth. _

_Yashamaru's hand twitched. Gaara let out a blood freezing scream as he collapsed to the ground. Yashamaru coughed blood then slowly turned his head towards the boy. _

_Gaara clutched at his head, tears, and snot, running down his face. "Why… why you? Why?" he cried. _

"_**Love is…" Yashamaru had said, "Care and devotion you feel for the precious ones around you… Lord Gaara, you are my precious one!"**_

"_Always… You were always… only you were my…" _

"_It was an order," Yashamaru cut him off. _

_Gaara stopped rubbing his eyes in alarm. _

"_I was ordered to assassinate you." Yashamaru continued. "By your father, Lord Kazekage."  
_

_**My father…**__ Gaara thought. His hand grasped at his mouth, and then he threw up. How could one blame him? The man who brought him into the world was trying to kill him. It was too much for any child to bear. "Father… why… would he want me dead?"_

"_You were born… to be possessed by the sand Shukaku…" Yashamaru explained, although not out of sympathy, "Until today, you have been watched over as an experimental subject… however; you are unable to control the powers of the living spirit Shukaku… before long your existence will become too dangerous to the village itself… we simply couldn't let that happen."_

_A small, sad, smile spread upon Gaara's face, "Then…" he said, "Then you had no choice. My father, the Kazekage, ordered you to kill me…. You can't go against the Kazekage…"_

"_No…" Yashamaru said, "You are mistaken. Yes, I did receive the Kazekage's order, but… I wouldn't have declined it if I had been given the option."_

_Gaara lip quivered, too much has happened in one night, he couldn't handle it. _

"_Lord Gaara," Yashamaru said, "Deep d own inside… I must've always… __**Hated**__ you. Coming into this world, steeling life away from my beloved sister… I tried my best to love you as her memento… but I couldn't… she never wished to give birth to you… she was sacrificed for the village, and therefore died cursing at it."_

_Tears had already stopped pouring out of Gaara's eyes._

"_Perhaps… from that moment on, I've been carrying never-healing emotional scars…"_

_**Unlike physical ones, there is no ointment available for emotional ones… and the pain may never go away.**_

"_Your mother… gave you your name… 'this child's name is 'Gaara', a demon that loves only himself…' Love only yourself, and fight for only your sake… she wished and believed that your existence is forever as long as you lived so…" Yashamaru coughed again, "But… she didn't give you the name… out of concern or love for you… the name was given to you in the hope of your eternal existence… to let her grudge be carried down… and be known to the world… You were never loved." He opened his jacket, exposing hundreds of explosion notes. "This is it… please… die."_

_The building erupted in flames and smoke. The only thing left intact, was a small, sobbing boy. _

_**Its automatic perfect defense is a proof of maternal affection. **_

_**Your mother's will remained in the sand to protect you.**_

_**It's love, Gaara.**_

_Gaara shrieked in anger and sand burned into his flesh, creating a the mark of love on his forehead. _

_**Love only yourself…**_

_**Fight for only yourself. **_

"_That's Gaara… me… I finally understand… _

_**I'm alone. I won't trust anyone any more… I won't love… I'm on my own…**_

_**  
That's right… I'm all alone…**_

"What's wrong?" Gaara asked the frozen blond haired boy, "Weren't you gonna retreat?"

Naruto took a hesitant step backwards, carefully holding the twitching Sasuke out of danger.

"What are they to you?" Gaara asked.

"The… They're my comrades!" Naruto shouted, pointing at Gaara, "You leave them alone or else… I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!"

A scream could be heard from within the cocoon of sand as the sand shifted.

"Grace!" Naruto shouted. He gritted his teeth.

"Is this thing really that important to you?" Gaara asked, "I thought it was only important to the Uchiha…"

"_It_???" Naruto asked, confused.

"I thought you were gonna' kick my ass." Gaara taunted.

Naruto gently laid Sasuke against the tree, then stood up straighter and growled, "Just bring it."

The screaming continued and then halted suddenly as the sand shifted again. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER!?" Naruto yelled. "Damn you!" He jumped forword towards Gaara, but then was whipped into a bus. "Shit…" he said, pushing himself up.

Sasuke opened his eyes, barely able to move the tips of his fingers. Slowly, painfully, the feeling was returning to his body, and it was even more slowly gaining strength. But not fast enough. His eyes focused on the cocoon like structure that was enclosed around Grace. He heard the scream and the halt… there was only one explanation as to why she suddenly stopped screaming… but he couldn't face the fact. She _had_ to be alive.

_I got to save Grace…_ Naruto thought, _there's no way in hell that she'll survive that thing for much longer. If not by Gaara killing her, than by suffocation… _Maybe that was the reason no more sound came from it. Naruto shuddered. As if an answer to his prayers, a small sliver of sand moved away to reveal a clumped mass of hair and a bloody face. Naruto almost didn't even recognize her.

"Why is it the two of you are so protective of it?" Gaara asked, staring at Grace's head. "It's just so hideous… pathetic… worthless… _weak_." He laughed, "It's just a fucking _piece of shit!_"

Naruto clenched his fists. He couldn't understand what was going on between Grace and Gaara, but he understood that Gaara was beyond the point of insanity at this point, and that Grace was at the unlucky end. He stared closely at Grace's head, focusing on the lips. He breathed when he caught slight movement. _So she is breathing,_ he though, sighing in relief. _But she won't last for long…I know… I got no other choice… Although it'll drain me of so much chakra… I must summon Gama the Boss!!"_

He made a hand seal and slammed it on a branch. A frog emerged.

"What the…" The small toad looked around, confused, "It's only a kid! Gimme snacks if you wanna ask a favor, otherwise I won't play with you, no way!"

Naruto face looked like it could explode, "Well, you know what?" he nearly screamed in fury at the frog, "I **HATE** you frog's altogether!"

"Oh ho!" The frog said, "An amphibian hater , eh? Don't' you dare take amphibians for fools!" the frog retorted.

"Wait," Naruto said, turning around to face Gaara, "I haven't got the time to play around with you, you lil' warty-face…" Grace's head was twitching violently now, although, Naruto thought, not too noticeable. He thought back to classes at the Academy.

"_Remember kids," Iruka-sensei said, "Severe head, physical or emotional injuries could sometimes lead to seizures, which are very dangerous to the victim."_

Could she be having a seizure? Naruto shook his head to clear any worrying thoughts. He had to focus on keeping her alive and rescuing her first. Think about exact details later. He looked at his hands, _damn it, why… after all the training I went through… it's no use... I can't even save Grace! And she went through all the trouble… of making sure I got that training…_

"Comrades?!" Gaara laughed, "You make me laugh… I FIGHT FOR MY SAKE ONLY!!" He yelled in pain as sand transformed is other arm. Now he was almost completely transformed.

_He transformed even farther,_ Naruto thought, _How the hell… what's going to happen when he fully transforms?_

"She won't be released from the sand," Gaara said, "Unless you beat me." He said, "Not only that, it'll get tighter and tighter as time passes and eventually kill her…" he laughed manically, "If she doesn't die from her wounds she already possesses and blood loss before that!"

"Hey, who the hell is he talkin' 'bout?" He frog asked Naruto.

"Grace…" Naruto answered, only half paying attention.

"Grace?" the frog said, "Wait, not that kid that the Boss…"

But Naruto didn't have time to respond to this surprising bit of information. He grabbed the frog and jumped out of the way as red hot sand tore the branch limb to bits.

"Whoa!" the frog said, "that was close!"

Naruto crashed into a tree and slid down, groaning as he did so.

"Boy, you're weak." The frog said.

"…guh… shuddup!" Naruto muttered.

"But… what is he?" the frog asked, changing the subject as he stared at the monster before them. Gaara had nearly fully transformed, so all that was human on him was his two legs. The hideous mouth spread into an evil grin. _What sad eyes… very lonely eyes… him… and a monster… like me…_ Naruto thought. He thought about how his life had been so devastatingly lonely._ I loathed everyone… I couldn't understand who I was or why I existed as a hated being… since I learned the nine-tails existed within me, the villagers seemed to look at me with eyes colder than ever… it was so painful. But… now I have people that acknowledge me… that's why… I can be unconcerned about being possessed or being treated coldly by the villagers. Because… I'm not alone anymore! I had no idea how happy that would make me… I felt blessed from the bottom of my heart… I'm allowed to be here… knowing that I do exist, made me feel relieved. _

_With my friends, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, Sakura… Konohamaru… Tenten… everyone!  
_

_And especially Grace. Grace is the closest one. She was the only one who didn't start out hating me. She… is my closest friend, my most precious person. Without her…My life would just be that much more empty. _

_That's why it kills me to think about how it used to me… that pain is not usual… it's a pitch black hell…If… if I were still alone…I would have turned into __**him**__. For this reason, I can sympathize with him: _

"_To them, I am only a relic of the past they want to exterminate… then why do I exist and continue living? I came to a conclusion. 'I exist to kill all humans other than myself.'"_

_I don't know what happened… but he's been suffering from loneliness… not knowing how it's like to be relieved… he can trust only himself… he continues fighting in hell… even till this day… I have people that acknowledge me. Compared with him… I'm probably a weakling living in a happy tension-free world… Do I really have a chance against someone like him?_

Grace gurgled as the sand caught her under the throat.

_I suppose it doesn't matter whether I have a chance or not. _ Naruto thought, _ No matter what, I'm going to rescue Grace. I don't care if it means dying…_ he gulped. Would he really throw away his dreams like that?

_Yes._ He thought. _What point would it be becoming Hokage… if the people I love and care about weren't there with me?_

"What's wrong… afraid of me?" Gaara said. "To fight for yourself… or to fight for others… Just love yourself! Fight only for your own sake! Those are the definitions of the strongest!! C'mon! Fight me!!! Show your powers like the time you defeated that Hyuga! I will crush those powers!"

Naruto just stood there.

"Well? C'mon!" Gaara shouted, "I'll kill the girl if you don't fight me!!"

Naruto gritted his teeth, "Damn you!" he shouted, he made a hand seal.

_Grace was the one who got me this training…_ he thought. _Grace believes in me. I can't let her down._

_The look in his eyes changed…_ Gaara thought.

"Hey?!" Gaara shouted, "What's wrong? You came chasing me all the way here… and this is all you can do?"

Naruto took out a explosion note, and wrapped it around a kunai. _Don't know what I can do…_ he said, making another seal, _But I'm gonna give it my best shot!_ "Shadow Clone Jutsu!!" five Narutos appeared.

"Here I go!" one shouted.

"Brand new advanced taijutsu technique!" Another shouted.

"Naruto Uzumaki: Clone Body Slam!!"

Gaara grinned. His claws reached out, and caught three of the clones. They kept it occupied, and the one left grabbed the real Naruto by the white color of his jumpsuit and threw him towards Gaara.

Naruto made another shadow clone, which he kicked off of, aiming for Gaara's tail. "TAKE THIS!" Naruto shouted, brandishing his kunai. "HIDDEN LEAF ANCIENT TAIJUTSU SUPREME TECHNIQUE!!!! Courtesy of Kakashi-sensei…" He stuck the kunai in (you know where) and shouted, "1000 YEARS OF PAIN!!!!!"

There was a moment of silence as Naruto and Gaara just stared at each other, then Naruto grunted as Gaara's tail whiplashed him out of the way. The kunai began to smoke, and Naruto, as he sailed through the air, in the almost silence of the forest, said, quietly, "…boom!"

Three trees exploded.

The impact Naruto would have made on the tree he landed on would have been fatal, if Sasuke hadn't had the energy to come between them.

_That…_ Pakkun said, _That were some fine techniques… and that Sasuke… shielding him even though his body is like that… _

Gaara looked almost comical. He looked like he was melting, as if he were a witch that just got water poured all over her. _Aghh…._ He thought, _Who'd've known he'd go after the weak point hidden by the tail…. I wasn't injured, but look what he did to my body…_

Sasuke was breathing heavily from the effort it took to transport himself and block Naruto from the tree. "Sasuke!" Naruto said, "You're… awake?"

"Duh," Sasuke said, his breathing becoming more labored. "Finally decided to go back to your normal self? Even after all that, you only managed one blow… shape up, will you? I can't save you this time, like I did in the Wave Country… you dim wit…"

"Shaddap will you?!" Naruto shouted, "That's not what's important right now! Right now, what's important is that any minute Grace could _die_ if I don't do something!"

Sasuke nodded. "I…" he said, trying to push himself up.

"You probably shouldn't move," Naruto said, "Don't worry; I'll get Grace to safety. You've probably used too much chakra…"

_Don't worry; I'll get Grace to safety._ Sasuke gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He knew that Naruto was right. He was useless at this point. He wouldn't be able to do anything in this condition.

But…

It was painful, knowing that it would be Naruto… _Naruto the idiot_… who would be the one to save her…

He clenched his fists.

_She reached out for him, and their fingertips touched when sand wrapped around her waist and pulled her fast away, dragging her after Gaara as his siblings carried him away from the arena._

_She…_ he thought, _She trusted me… I was the one she reached out to… to save her… _

_And I couldn't even do that…_

Gaara gazed at the blond boy. _Seems like I underestimated him a little…_ he thought, "Oh well…. I'll just end it here."

"Hey… Naruto…" Sasuke said, "Grace… You have to save her no matter what…"

Naruto looked at him, surprised.

"I know you can save her…" Sasuke continued. "Once you've got her… carry her and run… as far… and as fast… that you can…"

"Sasuke…" Naruto said.

"If it's just for a while, I'll be able to hold him in place…" Sasuke said. _If I end up dying, it just means that I was at the end of my limits… I know… I will die. I don't have nearly the strength nor the chakra to hold a chance… but… _he looked at Grace, "Never again…" he said, "I already lost everything once before… I don't ever want to watch those dear to me die before my eyes again…"

Naruto stared at him, lost for words. _Those dear to me…_

"I get it." He said. "Yeah… that's right…" he stood up, "Because he was like me… because he lived feeling the same kind of loneness and sadness I did… I thought he was strong 'cause he survived that solitude, fighting only for himself… but I was wrong… his strength isn't real… strength doesn't come from fighting alone… real strength is not what you have when fighting for only yourself…" Naruto made a hand seal, prepared for the final jutsu.

_When you have something you want to protect… only then can you become truly strong!_

Chakra began to gather around him. Sasuke was nearly blown away by the mere power and strength of it.

_What the… I don't believe the amount of chakra he's gathering! Is… is this really…_ Sasuke thought, shielding his face with his arm. _…Naruto?!_

"I WILL PROTECT THEM!" Naruto shouted, "NO MATTER WHAT!"

Hundreds of clones popped into existence, surrounding them, as far as they eye could see in the tightly knit forest. "SORRY!" Naruto laughed, "TO HAVE KEPT YOU WAITING!!" he pointed at Gaara, "Well, are you ready?! I'm gonna' start the 'Naruto Ninja Scrolls' now!"

"What the…" Gaara said, turning his head to stare at the countless number of clones that surrounded him.

"This is incredible!" Pakkun said.

"You…" Sasuke said, sitting hard, "This…"

"Sasuke, you take it easy," Naruto said, "Just leave the rest up to me, Naruto Uzumaki!"

"He's…" Sasuke pondered.

"ALRIGHT! EVERYBODY! LET'S GO!!!!" Naruto shouted, slamming his fist in the air.

_This…_Sasuke thought, _This couldn't be Naruto…_

"JUMP!" Naruto shouted. "NARUTO NINPOUCHO!"

_My body…_Gaara thought, _still can't move with the aftermath of the attack… yet… It can't be helped, I'll have to guard with the sand!!"_

"All Round Shuriken Version!" Naruto shouted, and all of his clones brandished kunai.

"NA"

"RU"

"TO"

"UZ"

"U"

"MA"

"KI"

"NO"

"JUTSU!!!"

Naruto shouted as he pummeled Gaara hundreds of times with his clones. Gaara smashed into the ground. Gaara's face was half submerged into the earth. "This… guy… who the hell is he…?" Gaara thought out loud, "All of a sudden…"

"HAHA!" Naruto barked, "That ain't all I got!"

"Here's some more!!"

"This time I'll use both my feet and…"

"I'll go at it with a Yonsen Rendan!"

"Now way I can lose… to this guy!" Gaara yelled as Naruto (and his Naruto clones) raced towards him. He narrowed his eyes. _Time to finish this…_

"Wha… what is that…" Sasuke said, staring at the huge monstrous form in the fields just beyond the forest.

"Wow!" the frog said, "The enemy's pretty good too!"

Naruto halted in his steps, his shadow clones all but disappeared. _So this…_ he thought, eyes wide in awe and fear, _This is the monster inside of him… it's gigantic!_

Naruto blinked as sand began to wrap around him. _Shit! I used up all my chakra with the shadow clones earlier… so I don't have any chakra left over… _The sand nearly completely covered the blond boy.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted.

A new trail of blood dripped from the corner of Grace's mouth.

Naruto looked up, making eye contact with the monster one last time before the sand completely enclosed around him. "I Inu Tori Saru Hitsuji…" Naruto said, prepared to do, and accomplish, the summoning jutsu.

"Shit!" Sasuke said, "My body… it…"

"Sabakukyu DESERT COFFIN!" Gaara shouted.

Naruto, within the 'coffin' grinned. _I __**will**__ protect Grace!_ "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

What should have been in implosion was instead an explosion. A huge frog, around the same size as the Shukaku, landed in the forest. Naruto jumped up and peered down at the forest, "Good," he said, "You didn't hit Grace…"

"WHAT'S WITH YOU… YOU AGAIN!?!?!" Gamabunta yelled, "WHAT CHA WANT?!"

"The results of my training finally appear! Now we're talkin'!!!" Naruto shouted gleefully, ignoring the loud mouthed frog.

The Boss frog looked at the monster, _That's… if I remember right… Shukaku of the sands…_

"OK BOSS!" Naruto shouted, "Com on and fight for me! I'm counting on you, Boss!"

_Naruto Uzumaki… _Gaara thought, _This guy… who the hell is he? And why… _Gaara couldn't understand why the bastard wouldn't just give up. Is a doll that important to him?

Sasuke stared up at the huge frog. _Naruto… you… what in the world._ He was both in awe… and there was also a twinge of..

"Nope." The boss frog retorted to Naruto's 'plea'.

"HUH?!" Naruto said, staring in shock at the boss, "But, like, why??!! You said you'd make me your underling last time!! And a boss is someone who's supposed to help a underling when he's in trouble, ain't he?!?! THAT'S THE WAY THE FAMILY!!!!! AIN'T IT?!?!"

"For sure, I said I'd make you my underling but… I ain't exchanged my Sakazuki with you yet… so… why should I have'ta do anythin' for the sakes of this guy… a big pain in the butt." The Boss muttered.

"Huh? Sakazuki… But, but, but!" Naruto exclaimed, "I'm not twenty-one years old yet! I can't drink sake!"

The little frog that Naruto had summoned earlier jumped across his boss's broad back to land of Naruto's head. "Now, don't be sayin' that and listen to the fellow would ya!" The frog said, "I was saved by this un so! Pops!"

"Huh?" Naruto said, "'pops'?!"

"Why are you here, Gamakichi?" his father asked, surprised.

"I was bored, so I came outta play," Gamakichi said, "But never mind that, that guy tried to bully me 'round!"

"Is that so… Tell you what kid…" the Boss said, "I'll recognize you as my underling, and, I'll show you about family!"

"Huh? Huh?" Naruto asked, confused for the… countless time in his life, "You're father and son?"

"That's right!" Gamakichi said.

"Now!" The Boss frog said, "It's payback time, you hoodlum!" He brandished a long, very long, katana. "Hold on tight!" he yelled as he jumped forward at an alarming speed, tearing up the forest below in the process. They collided, and with a strained swing of the sword, the Boss frog severed an arm. The katana flew into the air and slammed into the ground, creating winds so powerful it nearly flattened some of the trees. _What a guy… _he thought, _He's so tough it was all I could do to complete the swing of my sword…!_ _If I don't finish this quickly… the lands gonna be changed… eh…_

"HEY!" Naruto shouted, "Hey Boss! Grace is over there on that side! So don't go to that side! Lure him this way, would ya!!"

"Grace?" The frog said.

"Oh, Pops," Gamakichi said, "it's that girl that was training with the Pervert Sage! You know, the one you said—"

"I get it…" The Boss said, "Very well. Squirt?" he yelled, getting Naruto's attention, "Why the hell didn't you mention that girl was here in the first place?"

"That would have made a difference?"

"Of course!" he shouted, "That girl…" he hesitated. _Perhaps it's better if…_ "Well, regardless, I'll lure him away the best I can."

"We have to defeat him!" Naruto explained, "Or else we can't save Grace!"

Gaara began to laugh. "YOU'RE FUN!! THIS IS **FUN!**" He shouted, "NARUTO UZUMAKI!!!"

Gaara's head emerged from the forehead of the gigantic sand beast, he glared at Naruto.

"…So… that's the medium… huh…." The Boss said.

In a deadly voice, Gaara said, "Thank you for keeping me entertained so far… Now I'll show you the true powers of the sand demon…"

"That medium…" The Boss said, "Shows signs of insomnia, from being possessed by Shukaku no doubt… take a look at those bags under his eyes. I could give him competition…"

"Insomnia?" Naruto asked.

"Those possessed by the badger demon, Shukaku, become such that they can't ever have a single night of decent sleep. I understand…" the boss said, "That it's because of the terror!"

"The terror?" Naruto asked.

"If they sleep, their personality is eaten away by the Shukaku, bit by bit, until they disappear! Because the medium suffers from a lack of sleep, their personalities tend to be unstable."

"Well," Naruto said, "_That_ explains Gaara in a nutshell."

"But, Ya know… while that medium's normally awake, Shukaku's real powers are suppressed. But… if that medium were to fall asleep on his own then…"

Gaara gave one last glare before closing his eyes and whispered something. Then… he fell limp.

"No… way…" Naruto muttered.

"HAHA!" a bellowing, drunken voice slurred, "I'm finally out!! HIYAHOOO! And here's someone I wanna kill right off! FUTON!"

"WE'RE GONNA JUMP!" The Boss warned.

"RENKUUDAN!" the monster slapped his large belly. He opened his mouth and a blast of air flew out of his mouth.

The Boss jumped up. _WATER_ _CANNONBALL! _Large balls of water shot out of his mouth towards the balls of air that Shukaku was 'spitting' if one could call it that, towards them. The two attacks collided, and, like a negative and a positive, they cancelled each other out.

_This fight…_ Sasuke thought, _is incredible… it's as if this were a storm!_ 'Rain' poured down upon the forest.

"This is bad, Boss!" Naruto shouted, "There's still one left!"

A pocket of air slammed into them. The effect was similar to that of a bomb.

"YEAH!" Shukaku shouted gleefully, "I did it! I KILLED HIM! I KILLED HIM!"

The Boss landed hard onto the ground.d "That hurt!" he said, "You pumped so much damn chakra into that ball you threw at me! Even I can't take too many hits from those!"

"What are we supposed to do?!" Naruto asked.

"For now, rough up that medium kid!" The Bos said, "So the spell will break."

"How?!" Naruto asked.

"We'll get close to that stupid badger and stop him in his tracks. We'll do it when his guard is down!"

"And _I'm_ asking you how exactly are we going to do that?" Naruto shouted.

"I'm just a toad so… I don't have any fangs or claws to stop him so… using the Transformation Jutsu, I'll transform into something that does!! Althought... I'm no good at transforming… so… You'll be my will and do he 'in' for me… I'll lend you my chakra!! It'll become a Combo Transformation! You're probably out of chakra since you summoned me."

"Huh?" Naruto said, racking his brain, "Something with claws and fangs?"

"HERE WE GO!" The Boss shouted, plunging forward.

There was a huge puff of smoke, more like an explosion for its size, and out sprang… a fox. It sank its fangs and claws into the sand beast, who merely laughed from the thrill.

"DO IT NOW!" The Boss shouted through clenched teeth.

Naruto jumped up and sprang forward. The Boss transformed back into a toad, and Naruto delivered the strongest hardest punch he had ever delivered in his life.

_The jutsu… it's unraveling?!?_ Shukaku thought, fury surging through him, _I only just came out and then… SHIT! Even with the Tanuki Neiri released I'm still being pushed…?!?_

Gaara's eyes opened.

Naruto began to run back towards the Boss, when his feet started to sink.

"Pops!" Gamakichi shouted.

The Boss's tongue snapped out and surrounded Naruto and attempted to pull him out.

"Don't lick ME!!" Gaara shouted.

The sand beneath Naruto suddenly disappeared, and Naruto began to sink at an even faster rate. "What the…" Naruto said.

"What kind of…" Gaara seethed.

The Boss tried to pull Naruto out again, but the sand had Naruto so tight that to yank him out would to tear off Naruto's legs. _Damn this is bad… _the Boss thought, _Naruto and I've already used up all our chakra!"_

Naruto looked back at the forest, gazing at the purple haired girl who was pinned, alarmingly tight, against the tree.

"You're going to be killed by me… My existence will continue…" Gaara said.

_Grace…_ Naruto thought. Any second now… and she'll be… _There's no chance unless this bastard is stopped…_ he closed his eyes, entering that place, that corridor, where the Nine-Tailed Fox's lair was. _I'm beggin' you…_ he pleaded, _All I need is a little bit… Give me… enough so I can protect everyone… protect Grace…_

As soon as the word 'Grace' left his mind… Naruto felt as if his soul was shattering from power. At first, he felt like he was being killed, and it took a few seconds for him to realize that it was overflowing chakra. Red chakra formed around Naruto.

"DIE!" Gaara shrieked.

"Here I go!! You dumb badger!"

Sand closed around Naruto's sides, but it was too late.

"BASTARD!" Naruto shouted one last time till their foreheads cracked against each other. Blood trickled down each other their faces. And, giving Naruto déjà vu, the sand monster cracked and shattered like glass.

Naruto and Gaara landed on the grass, the huge monstrous Katana between them. The frog Boss and his son had long disappeared, leaving only the two boys.

"After all this… I feel so tired and empty…" Naruto said between gasps, "You too right? I finally reach my limit with that final blow. We are the same… you and I… Let's make this the end of it!"

The sword, as its master disappeared, soon followed it. The two boys jumped up into the air, raising their fists, and then… they crashed.

_Wh… what? _Gaara thought as he landed on his back.

Naruto landed hard as well, but on his stomach. He lifted his face and gazed at the red haired boy, then, using his chin, he began to slowly inch himself towards Gaara.

_What… that guy is dragging himself over here? _Gaara thought. "…My existence won't be put out… It won't be put out!!"

Naruto ignored him, continuing his approach. _Take this guy…_ he thought, _he wants to destroy because of what happened in the past… so what reason do I exist for?_ He thought of Haku, _I thought I was like him… no…not quite like him… and that this is the worst pain I know…the worst pain… a world where one's existence is called unnecessary._

"Do..Don't come any closer!" Gaara shouted, panicked.

Naruto looked up, his face, sweat and dirt streaked, his eyes filling with tears, his eyes echoing what Gaara's empty heart had been crying all his life. "…Being alone…" Naruto said, "Being incomplete… what you must feel… what your pain must be… I understand that…"

Gaara's eyes widened.

"But… for the people that are precious to me, to be able to… the people that are precious to me… if you hurt them…" his eyes turned dark, the round human pupils suddenly narrowing into catlike slits, "And if you are trying to kill them… I will stop you…"

"What the…" Gaara said, "What? Until now, for the sake of other people you've…"

"Because they rescued me from the hell of being alone…" Naruto said, "They acknowledged my existence… that's why they are all the most important…."

Gaara stared at him.

_Needing those close to you… an affectionate heart that gives all of itself for those important people, and is watching over him…_ the words of his uncle ran through his mind.

"…Love…" Gaara said. _That's why this guy is so strong. _

Pakkun and Sasuke landed on the tree that Grace was tied against. The sand was slowly falling away. Sasuke, carefully gathered Grace into his arms.

"_Careful_!" Pakkun said, "You don't know what kind of injuries she might have. The wrong move and she could be paralyzed for the rest of her life!"

Sasuke laid her down on the ground, gently, careful not to bump her or cause her pain. "Check her vitals." Sasuke said. "I'll go check on Naruto." His fingers lingered on Grace's torn cheek, and then left.

He landed next to Naruto, "Hey, that's enough, Naruto." He said, kneeling next to his friend, "Grace is alright now, this guy has run out of chakra… and Grace has been saved from the sand."

Naruto smiled, relieved, "Is that so…" he said, chuckling painfully to himself.

Sasuke whipped his head around, his eyebrows contorting and his eyes narrowing. The two sand siblings landed on either side of Gaara.

"Sasuke," Temari said, "I brought Sakura to safety—"

She halted, frozen by the deadly look the Uchiha sent her way.

"At the moment," he said, dead calm, "I, and you, are too weak right now… but I'll _never_ forgive you for what you did to her." His eyes narrowed even further, "I will kill you, I swear."

The two older sand siblings took a step back, knowing too well that look in his eyes to know he would keep to his word.

"That's enough…" Gaara said, weakly to his siblings, _A maelstrom… is that what you are, Naruto?_

_This is the first time I've ever seen Gaara so completely exhausted,_ Kankuro thought, "I understand…" he said, placing Gaara's arm over his shoulder. The three disappeared.

"Temari…" Gaara said, "Kankuro… I'm… sorry."

The two glanced at each other in surprise, not knowing how to act or what to say. "It's…" Temari said, "It's nothing…"

Pakkun landed next to Naruto. "I summoned Kakashi, it seems the fight at the village is over. The sand and the sound are retreating." He said, "Kakashi is bringing Grace to the hospital for critical care. I suggest that you take Naruto and yourself there as soon as possible." Pakkun said.

Sasuke nodded, and picked up Naruto.

"Let's go." He said. It was ironic… He was the one standing… and yet… it was Naruto who had saved Grace.

Meanwhile… on the outskirts of the village. Standing on the wall… two figures dressed in red and black observed the burning village.

"First… we don't need to destroy what's already suffered a lot of damage… what do you think?" the taller one said.

"The village is at the end of its prosperity… we shouldn't feel sorry for it." The other replied coldly.

"Gaara's no longer there… actually you still miss your village, don't you…" the blue haired missing nin asked his companion.

Cold red eyes stared out from the large brimmed hat. "No…" answered Itachi, "No, I do not."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

END

Hope you enjoyed it! I felt like this chapter was really boring… I mean, a lot happened, but not much with Grace involved… next chapter though, will be much more… dramatic and it obviously will involve Grace more… dun dun dun dun….

Anyway, I'll try to post chapters on Fridays like I always promise, but I like posting longer chapters, so it might take me more like ten days or two weeks to write chapters if you want longer chapters… although I suppose I could try to make longer chapters in a shorter amount of time…

Well, tell me what you thought of the chapter! I love reviews and feedback!

fUnKyToEs

P.S: I just freaked out for about fifteen minutes straight because I thought that my computer deleted it and I had to search all the dark hidden files on my computer to find it… I think I just about aged five years…


	35. The Fifth Hokage: Part I

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part I

WORDS: 5, 844 words

DISCLAIMER: these get really annoying after a while… but I do not claim anything but Grace.

FORWORD: I forgot this in my last chapter, but… THANK YOU TO ALL MY REVIEWERS FOR HELPING ME HIT 200 REVIEWS! It makes me really happy XD. I feel so honored I never thought this fanfiction would even reach 100 reviews… Yes, I know, this chapter is shorter than the last, but when you read the ending it'll make sense. ENJOY!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The first thing I felt was a heartbeat. Next was breathing. It was strange, though, because it sounded and felt like it was coming from outside of me. It took a few minutes for me to come to the realization that I had a mask over me, and that I must be breathing through one of those oxygen machines. My eyes hurt so badly that I couldn't open them, even if I wanted to. My whole body felt weird, like it wasn't even mine. My foot… even though my body was unresponsive there was something wrong, my brain was telling me.

I felt something touch my hand, there were voices, and then quiet.

Everything was black, and for the first time since I was a little girl, I was scared of it. I felt trapped, helpless, and in pain. There was no way out, like I was stuck in a bottomless pit.

And then, there was a jerking feeling, a pain in my chest, and then things, whatever little feeling I had still connected to my body, began to drift away.

It was an odd sensation, like… an out of body experience, except I wasn't blessed with the opportunity of standing outside my body and watching it, like I did that time in that dream…

That dream…

I remember now. For the longest time, I had forgotten, but now… I remember again. What it was that I saw in our faces, Sasuke and mine. I never noticed it before, but now…

Now I knew…

Now I remembered…

Life electrified my senses and I suddenly felt every nerve in my body. It was jerking rhythmically, and there was a weight on my chest. People shouting orders. Again and again the jerking came, painful, liberating, sensational, and with each one, the dream that I remembered faded till I couldn't even remember what I had been thinking about.

I opened my eyes, slowly, wincing at the hospital lights. Here again… My head wouldn't move, it was in some sort of brace, but I painfully rolled my eyes so I could see either side of me. I opened my mouth and mouthed 'Naruto' but no sound came out.

The boy was sitting at my side, dressed in black, staring at his hands. He glanced up, and a sad smile spread across his face, "You're awake!" He said, his face turning happier when he realized what it meant, "Grace, you really scared me back there! The doctors said your heart stopped!"

So that's what happened… I thought, that's what the jerking feeling was… they were shocking my heart back into having a rhythm.

"…how…" I mumbled.

"Huh?" Naruto said, "Wait, don't strain yourself." He looked up, "Here, I'll go get Sakura and Tenten. The nurse said no more than one person at a time, but… I think this is important."

He walked to the door, "You don't mind, do you?"

I would have shook my head, if I was capable of doing it. I focused my mind on my body. I appeared my entire body was in a cast. There was something wrong with my left foot… the nerves must not be working properly, I decided, that's why I can't seem to locate my toes…

"Grace!" Sakura said, rushing in, "You're awake! The doctor's said that there was a forty percent chance you wouldn't wake up from the coma."

"..I…coma?" I managed.

"For about five days." Naruto said, "Like I said, you really scared us there."

"The doctors said that none of your internal organs were too badly damaged," Tenten said, "You broke your arm, and badly bruised one of your legs, not to mention you nearly sprained your leg, but for the most part you've merely severely bruised your body… but… Other than that, you just have a lot of scars." She smiled, "You're actually really lucky, seeing all you went through."

"What about the neck brace?" I asked, irritation flooding me as this _is_ the second time I've had to wear one.

"Oh," Sakura said, "Well, nothing's too badly hurt up there, it's just… the doctors wanted to make sure that your neck, until it strengthened and healed enough that it was safe, didn't, you know, wobble or anything. Your neck went through a lot, and, during the surgery and operations, they didn't want something to happen to it. It should come off in a day or so, and then you'll just have to wear bandages."

"Oh," I said, relieved, "So that's all that happened?"

"Well…" Sakura said, "Do you remember how you kind of… well… you're hair…"

I gave her a confused look.

She dug in her pocket and pulled out a little mirror, the kind that fold up. She gingerly held it above my head, so I could see my reflection. I blinked. At first, all I could see was my now hideously scarred face, although it didn't looked permanent. If fact, most of my face was covered in moist bandages. "Are the scars permanent?" I asked.

"Thankfully, no." Tenten said, "Although if you look closely you'll notice and it'll take a _really_ long time for any of it to fade… but that's not what Sakura meant for you to see."

I tried to look past the scars and focus on something else. I blinked, wincing at the pain. My hair… was _short._ "What happened?" I wanted to reach up and touch the now boy short hair, but my arms were immobilized. It was still purple, although dark blond roots were beginning to show, now more obvious with the shorter hair, and it was still long, roughly a similar style as Naruto's… it's not like they shaved it or anything.

"Well," Tenten said, "You had so many snarls and knots and sand and branches from when Gaara… dragged you through the forest, that the doctors just cut it all off. There wouldn't be any chance of getting it out."

I see… well… I suppose I can live with short hair. It's the least of my worries.

"What's wrong with my foot?" I asked, bluntly.

From their reactions, I immediately regretted asking in the first place. They look upset, as if they had bean dreading this from the beginning… but, they also looked relieved, like that look small children have after they just took nasty medicine. "About that…" Naruto said.

"What?" I asked, a dreading feeling sinking in my gut. You know what someone knows something bad and they don't want to tell you and then you figure it out before they tell you? Not only was I beginning to understand why my brain wasn't able to successfully move my toes… I was also… _remembering._ I was remembering the pain. I paled. "No…" I said, "I couldn't have…" I felt my breathing begin to stutter in panic, I was sure I'd completely stop breathing any moment.

"Grace…" Tenten said sympathetically.

"Life it up," I ordered, "Life the blanket up."

Sakura pulled back the blanked to reveal by left leg, but below it… My foot was bandaged. It was wrapped up, and, it looked normal. Except that it was shorter than normal. "Did Gaara…" I said.

"Yes." Sakura said, "I'm so sorry, Grace."

I didn't say anything; I just stared at the stubbed foot. It was so bizarre looking. I wasn't even really thinking of the long term affects this would have, I was just like 'holy shit, I got no toes! I compared the two feet. The toeless foot just looked so… lonely. It was… desolate… I couldn't believe it. You never think this sort of thing is possible… the foot just looks so… _wrong_. I mean, I never _once_ in my life _ever_ expected to become toeless by the age of sixteen. It's just not one of those things you really think about. I probably would never walk again. This thought made the panic begin in my chest again, and my breath hitched.

"Are you ok?" Sakura asked, worried.

"So…" Naruto said, pointing at the tube that ran from my 'you know where' to a bag at the side of the bed, "Is this the tube that collects your pee?"

Sakura, Tenten and I just stared at him. Then, the room exploded into different reactions.

Tenten merely slapped her forehead and then drew two very dangerous looking weapons that could only be used for one painful procedure. Sakura began to hit Naruto on the head. Naruto began to plead for mercy, of course.

And I?

I burst out laughing. Give it to Naruto to _always_ say the wrong thing at the wrong time. "Relax, you two," I said, "It's ok. Besides, you guys should be used to Naruto by now."

They stopped their antics, and then Sakura came up to me, "How are you feeling?" she gave me a bashful smile; "I suppose I should have said that at the beginning."

I shrugged, then immediately regretted it. Tears sprang into my eyes as I jerked my bad arm. "How long till these heal?" I asked, nodding to the bone and muscle injuries.

Tenten frowned, trying to remember, "Well, if I remember correctly, it should take about a week or two, and then you can have it in just a wrap."

"_Two weeks_?" I asked, "That's impossible!"

Sakura shook her head, "I know it sounds impossible, but the Konoha Hospital is having the best Medical Ninja take care of you. That's why it's going to take so little time. Your bones are almost halfway healed."

"Well," I said, "Not _the_ best, but I appreciate it."

They glanced at each other. I suppose what I said might have come across as a little haughty if they didn't know I was talking about Tsunade…. Speaking of said woman… I felt a pain in my chest. "You guys…" I said, closing my eyes, "Did… did Gramps…"

They fell silent.

That was the only answer I needed.

"I…" I said, "I thought…" I bit my lip, not wanting to cry in front of them. I wanted _so_ badly to protect the old man. I knew he was going to die, and how and where and when. He was so kind to me… letting me into the village, even though he probably violated some rules to do so, giving me a place to stay, adopting me, and trusting me. He gave me a _family._ He was… he was the Grandpa I always wished I had. I knew all this was going to happen, and yet, I was so incapable of doing anything. All I did was get myself kidnapped. I'm so _helpless._ You always think that you'll go to the world of Naruto, and you'll save the world and be the most beautiful and powerful ninja… but reality is crueler than that. I'm here, and I'm not some beautiful powerful ninja. I'm a helpless girl who's sitting in a hospital, after nearly dying, and I'm not even capable of saving the people I love. I really am a failure.

"What about Ryuichi?" I asked, "Is he ok?"

"Yes, from what we know," Sakura said, "However…" she bit her lip, "I don't want to be the one to give you too much bad news at once, but… Ryuichi can't be your bodyguard anymore."

I stared at her, "Why not?" I asked, my voice rising.

"He failed," Tenten said, "It was his job and duty to make sure nothing happened to you, and he let exactly that happen."

"But—that's not fair!" I said, "it wasn't his fault, he was attacked! He was _trying _to save me!"

"Well," Tenten said, "I know, I know that you're upset, you and Ryuichi and Konohamaru were close, like a family if what Naruto and Konohamaru said was true, but that's the orders of the Elders. They are assigning you two new ANBU bodyguards. In fact," she leaned her head, without actually looking, towards the window, "They're here now."

I frowned, "I don't want them."

"Yeah," Naruto said, "We know. We don't want them trailing us either. At least Ryuichi let us hang out alone once in a while."

"Yeah," Sakura said as well, but her tone was different, "I know Ryuichi was a friend of us, but… that's just it. By letting Grace go unprotected, he was going against his orders. That's not protecting Grace!"

"Just be quiet!" I yelled. There was silence. It was probably because I've never truly yelled in anger at them before. "I'm sorry," I said. "I just… it's a lot to take in one day."

"Take it easy today," Sakura said, "We don't want you to overexert yourself."

"When was the funeral?" I asked, just when Tenten and Naruto left the room and Sakura was moments behind.

She halted in her exit, and then said, "It was tomorrow morning." She said. "We tried to hold off as long as we could till you woke from the coma, but we couldn't wait any longer. The body would have…" she trailed off. I understood. I don't think I would have wanted to go, anyway. I mean, don't get the wrong idea… I just feel sort of responsible for it… so I don't think… I would have been able to handle it.

"And Sasuke?" I asked, "Is he ok?"

"Em…" Sakura started.

"Hey, what's taking you so long?:" Naruto asked, peeping his head through the door, "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Sasuke…" Sakura began again, "Sasuke isn't very… Well, he hasn't… with you being so badly hurt and in the hospital and everything… well… he's not exactly taking it all very well. None of us have seen him very much …he came to visit you once, just after you were omitted, but… I think, I think he couldn't bring himself to see you again."

"Why?" I asked.

She didn't answer.

"And Gaara?" I asked.

Naruto frowned, "Well, I'm sure… I know you're probably angry… but…"

"Oh," I said, "I'm pissed. I wouldn't be human if I weren't pissed… but what I want to know is he ok? I mean, did you… you know, teach him what life was really about and all that?"

Naruto's eyes widened, "How did you…"

"I know some things," I said, too tired to come up with an explanation, "Just deal with it. Well… that's good. I know that I would rather not have gone through that… but I'm glad that Gaara turned out for the better…"

"Why?" Sakura asked, "I mean, he literally _maimed_ you."

I smiled, "You'll see."

They gave each other quizzical looks, then said goodbye and left.

I had major déjà vu from the last time I was hospitalized. Being bored… You know, I get hospitalized and injured a lot. Must be the fact that this is reality, not some fluffy fanfiction. Sometimes I wished my life were a fluffy fanfiction. Then everything would be fun and games and no one would get hurt, least of all me. Did that sound selfish?

I looked at the screen, and blinked. Was I hallucinating, or was that heart beat line on the screen getting really… really… … … flat………?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It happened again. My eyelids fluttered, and my eyes rolled so I could see my surroundings. My heart was fine, but there was a doctor standing right above me. He smiled when he saw my eyes, "Nice to have you back," He said, "You can't have anymore visitors for a while, it's apparently too much of a strain for you. It appears that there was more damage to the internal organs than we thought. You'll have to stay hospitalized for longer, even after your bones heal."

I didn't respond. I wouldn't have been able to, even if I wanted to. I was strange. I felt like I was hallucinating, everything was flashing, and the contrast between lights and darks were so extreme that just looking at something gave me a headache. I closed my eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When I opened my eyes again, it was morning. At least, I thought it was. I could have been evening, but the way the light came in through the window and the still and calmness of the room just sang morning. I stared at the ceiling. The brace that had been around my neck was now gone, and all that was there was a very stiff bandage like thing. I suppose it makes sense, if this was morning. Sakura _did_ say it would come off in a day or so. I turned my head, wincing at it turned out to be much more painful than I imagined it would be, and stiff, not just because of the 'brace' like bandage, but also because my neck itself was stiff. It felt very similar to when Sasuke kicked me under the chin at the Chuunin Exams….

I blinked when I saw Sasuke. He was sitting on a chair, his left side to me, but his head was looking out the window. I'm not sure if he realized that I was awake. I opened my mouth but nothing came out at first, so I just closed it and concentrated on him. He was…so serene looking. Even though I couldn't see his face, his body posture, the way he crossed his arms and leaned back into the seat, it was very relaxed. I could tell there was unease about him, but for some reason… being here at the hospital was relieving to him. But…I wonder why it would make him, not necessarily happier, but more… less stressed.

I decided to try my voice again, and said, "You know, I haven't hurt this much since you nearly broke my neck at the Chuunin Exams."

His head spun towards mine, and in a flash, I saw concern and… something flash in his eyes, then they cooled to the dark emotionless onyx that they always seemed to be. "What?" he asked.

"I said, my neck hasn't hurt this much since that time you kicked me," I said, turning my head so I was staring at the ceiling again, because that was the most comfortable and less painful position.

He was silent. "I didn't know it was you." He said, slightly defensively.

"I know," I said, "I don't blame you. I mean, you were just trying to protect Sakura and Naruto. Obviously were going to attack if you thought I was the enemy… besides," I said, "That's all in the past…" I gave him a funny side look, "I'm not going to be kidnapped, and you don't have to hang out when I'm sleeping. Besides, I've probably got two ANBU waiting just outside who are more than capable of protecting me…"

He stiffened.

"Unless," I grinned, "You _like_ watching my sleep. Although," I followed, thoughtfully, "That _would_ kind of creep me out."

"I came earlier, but you were asleep," Sasuke said, coldly, he too returning his gaze to the window, "You were asleep, so I decided to wait until you woke up."

"There's no need for the offensive attitude," I said, offended, "I was just making a joke." Why was he being so cold? Was there something I offended him with? I hope not. I mean, Sasuke is like my little brother, when he hurts _I_ hurt. Although… at the beginning of the Chuunin Exams, I would have said, without any hesitation, that he was like my brother. But now… that feeling is slowly going away, and it was weird. Do I not think of Sasuke as a brother anymore? If not, than what do I think of him as? I felt like it had something to do with that dream I had, which much to my dismay I forgot upon awakening.

"It wasn't funny."

"I'm sorry," I said, apologetic. I suppose he's right, as usual.

There was silence. "Did you go to the funeral?" I asked.

"I had to." He said.

There was silence again. "Sasuke…" I said. "I… you…"

"_Sasuke isn't very… Well, he hasn't… with you being so badly hurt and in the hospital and everything… well… he's not exactly taking it all very well. None of us have seen him very much …he came to visit you once, just after you were omitted, but… I think, I think he couldn't bring himself to see you again."_

"Sasuke… you not… blaming yourself for what happened to me, are you?" I asked, worried. His body seemed to hitch, freeze, jerk, but just for a second. Then he resumed his cool. But that little… fracture of his actions told me enough to know that he did blame himself. "Sasuke," I continued, "Sasuke, please don't blame yourself… it's not your fault and… it's not like I'm dead. They say I'll be out of here in a week or so, anyway. I'm sure you did your best to protect me, and that's all I care about."

He turned to face me, a spark of sadness in his eyes, which shocked me, "Grace," he said, "I wasn't the one who—"

"You're awake!" Sakura said, walking in. She halted when she saw Sasuke, "Oh! Did I… interrupt something?" the look Sasuke gave her told her that she did.

"Nope." I said, "We were just chatting. What is it?"

"Oh," Sakura said, "I was just wondering if… well, never mind."

"What?"

"Well, we're eating take out down in the waiting room, because they don't allow food in this room, and we were wondering if you wanted to come…" she looked really guilty, "but I forgot you wouldn't have been able to come, the doctors won't let you leave the room… and you probably can't eat take-out right now…"

"Huh?" I said, "Oh yeah…" I realized, "Take-out or junk food probably isn't the best for my system. I glanced at the many IV tubes running into my body. It doesn't even look like I'm really supposed to _eat_ at all. There must have been more damage to my organs than I thought…"

"Yeah," Sakura said, "It's a miracle that you're not dead right now, I mean, the doctor said that there was a possibility that you'd have to be on an oxygen machine for the rest of your life! Or even a heart transplant, but, obviously, it didn't turn out that way." She looked a little embarrassed, glancing at Sasuke awkwardly, but then continuing, "They _even_ said that there's a chance your reproductive organs were damaged, but from the looks of it, they're all right."

"Reproductive organs… huh?" I said. No wonder that area hurt so badly… "Well," I said, "Most likely the worst that will happen is I have a hard time ever getting pregnant… or pregnant at all…" I pondered this for a moment, then said, "Oh well, the population is too big anyway." I turned to look at Sasuke, "That's focused directly on you, Sasuke. When you find a girl, _please_ don't turn her into a baby-making machine."

Sasuke was still looking out the window, but his body was completely rigid, as if we touched on a subject he was sensitive on.

"Well," I said, "I don't see the problem in me coming, I mean, it's not like my legs are broken I can still _walk_. I—" I halted when I realized that I actually _couldn't _walk, probably forever, due to the fact that the near smallest bones that were essential for balance and walking were missing from my left foot. "Oh…" I said, "I keep forgetting about my foot…" I sighed. "It's really going to stink being in a wheel chair for the rest of my life." I grinned and opened my mouth, about to make a joke to loosen up the mood when Sasuke stood up abruptly and walked out, closing the door harshly and loudly behind himself. I stared at the door for a moment, then looked at Sakura. "What…was that all about?"

Sakura walked over to me and said, "Do you want to sit up?"

"Can I?" I asked, questioning this.

She nodded and pressed a button on my bed. The bed began to move and form a weird shape that made it so I was sitting, although it was more like I was half laying down. "Wow," I said, "I forgot about those."

She sat down in the chair Sasuke had been in. "As I'm sure you figured out, Sasuke feels… very guilty for what happened to you. He was the first one to the scene, and was defeated by Gaara. He wasn't able to protect you… and… From what Naruto and I could see, it appears he was present when your toes got cut off… but he was so weak and injured he couldn't do anything about it. All this talk about you never having children… or never walking… and all this stuff… Sasuke feels like he's responsible for it all."

I blinked, "Why would he?" I asked, "I mean, why should he…" I sighed, "Please… oh _God_ please don't make this make him more emo… I've worked too hard for it to be all for lost."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing." I said, shaking my head, slowly because it hurt, "I'd like to try to sleep again."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jiraiya giggled as he adjusted his spyglass. _Almost… Almost…_ "Bingo!" From this angle he could see perfectly into the woman's baths. "Ooh, baby!" he laughed gleefully as he adjusted the focus the get an even 'closer' look. It wasn't for a few seconds that he noticed the presence of two people behind him.

"I see…" An old man's voice said, "That you haven't given up on foolish things, have you…"

Without even turning around, Jiraiya answered, "I'm just doing it once more…" He looked around, dreading the two people who stood behind him, "Homura Otchan… Koharu-sensei… right? What business does a committee advisor have with me?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Orochomaru shook as Kabuto helped him into a chair. "That asshole Sarutobi…" Orochomaru muttered angrily.

"Well…" Kabuto said, taking a few steps back, "It wasn't going to be that simple to do… it is said that the Hokage was the strongest of the five kages because he was the Hokage. However… it is still impressive, this is makes it two out of the five kages…" he halted as Orochomaru sent him a deadly silencing glare.

"Stop saying," Orochomaru said, deadly slow and quiet, "Words of comfort to me… or I'll kill you."

Kabuto didn't answer, but then he said, his tone overly respectful, "Of course, that was not my intention… true, we may have failed in destroying the Leaf Village… but we were able to accomplish the plans for Uchiha Sasuke… You have attached your 'Curse Seal' to him."

Orochomaru began to laugh, "These arms," he said, learning to peer at his motionless arms, "And all the jutsus I ever learned in exchange for that…First of all, if we only had gotten Itachi Uchiha to join us, there wouldn't have been any problems at all. However, that is… just a dream to wish for. Because he is even stronger than myself. That's why I left that organization…" he said, his head tilting slightly to a hand at the other side of the room. A left hand, with a ring on the pinky finger. "But now… I still have Sasuke Uchiha."

"There are a lot of strong Ninja at the Leaf Village, though," Kabuto said, "Are you positive that he will come?"

Orochomaru grinned, "Of course… you're forgetting that virtue girl… Grace I think her name was. Originally, I wanted her because it would make me more powerful. You know of her powers, surely by now."

Kabuto nodded.

"Yes…" Orochomaru crooned, "I also wanted her… it won't be long, if not already, that _that_ organization will find out about her, and you can bet your life they will do anything to get their hands on her. I wouldn't be surprised if they sent someone already to gather information on her."

"So," Kabuto said, "You must be pissed that Gaara failed in bringing her to you?"

"It wasn't Gaara's initial job," Orochomaru said, "But if Grace _had_ come here, Sasuke would have surely followed. He's like a loyal dog to her. However… his intentions wouldn't be… positive. I would not have been able to convince him to stay if he found out that I caused her such pain, albeit through Gaara… that is why I am pleased that Sasuke, and his little _friends,_" he said, disdainfully, "Managed to get her back. Now, he is most likely consumed with guilt. Guilt for not being able to protect her… guilt that will cause anger so great that he will do anything to make sure nothing ever happens to her… he will search for power now not only for _that_ cause… but also for this new one. And," he said, "I doubt Sasuke will let her out of his sight, so when Sasuke comes, he will bring her along with him."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What business are we here for?" the old man said, "We have something to tell you. You'll probably understand why."

"So you say…" Jiraiya said, "Even though your faces don't look like it, the talks with the sand are going well. Hasn't it been concluded?"

"Right now," the man continued, "The relationship with the sand is not that important. Right now, the power of the Hidden Leaf is declining. People are starting to get fearful… under these circumstances, the top priority now is to make preparations for an upcoming crisis."

"Because we do not know when neighboring villages will take such bold actions once again. It still depends… until the power of the village is restored, several of our top people from the army were summoned to form a committee, and this is how the emergency executive committee was formed." The woman said, "This is how this matter was decided and dealt with… now, first of all… We need a strong leader to rely on. Right now, we sense trouble coming our way, and it is not only Orochomaru."

"You see," The old man said, "What we're trying to say is that we need to build a foundation fort his plan. As of now, a new Hokage is needed. And also, at an urgent meeting with the fire village yesterday, Jiraiya, we decided it to be you."

Jiraiya immediately held up his hand to stop them, "Unlucky for you," he said, "I'm not the type for it."

"This is the decision that was made. Also, are you not one of the Three Legendary Ninja as stated? If you are not the type then tell us who else is."

"There is another person among the Three Legendary Ninja." Jiraiya said, simply. "That person is Tsunade."

"That is true…" The woman said reluctantly, "Even if that woman is qualified to succeed… we do not know of her whereabouts."

"I'm going to look for her and bring her back." Jiraiya said, "That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"However…" The old man began, but Jiraiya cut him off.

"Don't be down just because of me." He said, "I'll bring back Princess Tsunade to become the next Hokage. You don't have to worry."

"I understand…" the older man concluded, "I will take that into consideration immediately. However, you need to bring several ANBU with you for your Tsunade search party."

Jiraiya smirked, "I'm not going to run away. That's a little excessive to have someone watch over me. However, there are two people I would like to accompany me. I found some interesting little eggs that need hatching."

"Who?" the woman asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki, for one," Jiraiya said, "And the other… Grace. Old Man's granddaughter."

They both took a step back in surprise. "You are not suggesting," The woman seethed, "That in her condition you would have her accompany you on some wild goose chase?"

"She is in greater threat now than ever," the old man said, "The other countries have most likely found out that Orochomaru partly targeted her, which would cause suspicion and curiosity in the other villages. You surely know her gift. She is an essential tool for the village. We must keep her here under constant surveillance."

"I know of her 'gift' as you call it," Jiraiya said, "And trust me, she won't do you any good if she doesn't come with me. I'm not sure… but I feel like she already knows what's going to happen… with Tsunade. I have a hunch that she _has_ to come with me."

They were silent. "She is still in reconvery." The old man said.

"It's been almost a week and half," Jiraiya said, "All she really needs is a proper foot brace so she can walk, and I can carry her most of the way." He cut them off before they could speak, "And when if comes to protecting her, there really isn't one better for the job. After all, I _am_ one of the Three Legendary Ninja."

They couldn't argue. They hated the idea, but…

"Very well," The woman said, "But only because if what you say is true, than it is essential for her to accompany you."

"Then it's settled," The old man said, "Grace will accompany you in the search for the Fifth Hokage."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

END

It feels like this chapter is really short… even though it's one of my longer ones. I really wanted to get this in faster… so I didn't make it _too_ long, but this just seemed like a nice climatic spot to end. The next few chapters will REALLY have a lot of Grace Interaction in them… and it will be fun to see how Grace changes things by just being there…

I had a hard time with Sasuke in this chapter… because he's supposed to be all 'depressed' over Grace's condition but I didn't want him to come across as if he's separating himself from her… well, I hope you guys all understand.

This is the part of the story I've been looking forward to writing about… so I'll be updating faster and with longer chapters probably now.

Thanks for reading, and please leave a review!

Oh, and I hoped that I didn't offend or make anyone feel awkward with the reproduction organs part… but I wanted to be realistic and also… I enjoy having Grace put herself, or in this case, Sakura put her in, awkward situations and conversations with Sasuke present. The poor boy… Grace just doesn't understand that there are topics you don't talk about in front of boys!

fUnKyToEs


	36. The Fifth Hokage: Part II

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part II

WORDS: 6, 884 words

WARNING: _slight _fluff at end. _Maybe_.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything…

FOREWORD: Well, I just couldn't stop writing this chapter… which was fun to write…l but I eventually had to stop myself at the end and say "I'll finish it in the next chapter" so if you're left hanging at the end and are like "Why did she end it _there_?" you'll know why. So… I actually got this one in early, which is a first for me, I think. I hope you all enjoy this!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Well," The taller man said, "After two weeks, should we advance? I don't really see how we had to wait as long as we did…"

The shorter man didn't respond. "Our target has changed. Or more… our objective has changed. We need to gather information of that girl, whether or not she truly is who our spy says that she is… although his word is legitimate, seeing as he is one of the most trusted subordinates of the Leader… but… I shall use my eyes to see is she is truly who she is pretending to be."

"I see…" the blue man said, "And we need her away from the protection of the village."

"Of course," Itachi said, "We will wait till Jiraiya takes the Kyuubi and her out of the village, where we can properly take the Kyuubi, and the girl."

"It's like they're _giving_ us the two," The tall man laughed, "What happens if she isn't who she's pretending to be?"

There was silence, then, "Then there is no reason to still keep her alive."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Lady Grace?" The nurse said, knocking on the door, "May I come in?"

I didn't respond at first, then said, "Yes." I chided myself afterwards. It sounded so melancholic. Of course, I couldn't really help it. The past week or so I've been a little out of it. Maybe it was being stuck in a hospital bed for two weeks, although… my injuries weren't bothering me. I had, since the day I found out, decided not to let the toes thing bother me. After all, it's not like I have brain damage or anything. Breathing was a little hard, and if I let myself get excited sometimes my heart hurt a little, but that too would go away in a few weeks. My reproductive organs? Nothing serious, I'd probably not even have trouble ever getting pregnant, it's more like… they hurt a little, but that's not a surprise. If what Naruto and Sakura said was true, I was enclosed in pressured sand. Of course there's be aftereffects to my organs.

No… I felt like what was so… depressing, and I suppose it was the fact that… I became an _orphan_ in this world. I never expected that to happen. I mean… a few days ago, someone might have taken my attitude as aloof, but the truth was that I just… was in shock. I just… it was… when I read the manga, I was just like, 'oh, that's sad… the Hokage died…' but, I didn't realize, when you actually _knew_ the person, how much more it hurts.

Just like when you know someone, and they betray you, how much more_ that _hurts.

It just makes me wonder… am I too late? Am I not good enough? I will I be able to stop him?

"Miss?" The nurse asked, politely.

I looked up, and she curtsied respectfully. I forgot, now that I'm officially the 'former' Hokage's granddaughter, I technically have the title of that equal to a princess… I almost grinned. Now Tsunade and I will be at equal status… Tsunade… the thought brought me back to reality. This is around the time that she is brought back, right? I wonder if she's already here…

"My Lady?" The nurse asked, a slightly worried expression on her face.

"Ah," I said, "I'm fine. What is it?"

"This letter came for you yesterday, but I'm afraid we didn't have a chance to give it to you." She walked to the door, "Call me if you need anything." She left.

I accepted it and glanced at the mailing address. It was from the Konoha Committee. _That's strange..._ It was dated around two weeks ago… so around a few days before the Chuunin Final Exam… I was in the hospital for about a week and a half now, nearly two weeks. I opened it, and immediately regretted it.

_Dear Miss Grace,_

_We are pleased to inform you are now the legal granddaughter of your guardian, __Hiruzen Sarutobi. _

_You're name has officially been changed to Grace Sarutobi._

_We hope that you and your family enjoy the rest of the year,_

_The Konoha Committee,_

_Koharu Utatane_

I just stared at it. I was lost. How… why didn't I get this earlier? I was shaking so hard that the paper crumpled in my hands. Why did this have to come now? Of all times why did it have to come when… when I… I rolled the paper into a ball and angrily threw it at the door, shrieking in frustration.

I just sat there, breathing hard.

I… couldn't even understand my anger. I had _never_ felt so angry in my life. My hands clenched into fists. This is all Orochimaru's fault… I swear… when I recover, I will _kill_ the bastard. I closed my eyes. Orochimaru originally came for Sasuke… And, no matter what people lied and told me, I knew he also came for me. Which means… I opened them. _If _Sasuke were to go to Orochimaru… How could he now? How could he go to that bastard when he was responsible for the death of his master and my grandfather…

I knew that, no matter what, I had to stop Sasuke, because I knew, if Sasuke left…

I would _never_ forgive him till the day I died.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kakashi leaned against the wall, looking nonchalant, but he had keen interest in two oddly dressed customers of the shop he was standing next to. He looked up in surprise when he saw Asuma and Kurenai walking up side by side. "Well, look at you two…" Kakashi said, "Are you guys on a date?"

"Idiot!" Kurenai chided, blushing slightly, "Anko asked me to pick up some sweats for her and her new student."

"Ah," Kakashi said, "I keep forgetting that Sakura is her student now, well, not _her_ student, but until we get more missions… which I doubt as a team very soon…" He turned his attention to Asuma, "How are you doing?" He asked.

Asuma glanced at him. "It ain't easy," he admitted, "But I'm dealing with it."

"Yeah," Kakashi said, "You've been to see Grace?"

Asuma shook his head, "I don't think I would know what to say. I know she technically my niece now, but we've only spoken on a few occasions, and not for very long at that."

"Well," Kurenai said, "There's no time like the present."

Asuma shrugged. "Maybe when all this clears up. What about you?" Asuma said, changing the subject, "What're you doing at a sweet shop?" This, of course, was directed at Kakashi.

"Not really…" Kakashi said, laughing, "Sometimes I stop by to buy some stuff… right now I'm meeting up with someone. I'm waiting for Sasuke."

"It's odd that you're waiting for someone," Asuma said, "Speaking of Sasuke, he's quite close to Grace, isn't he? If I'm not mistaken there's a little thing sparking between them."

"Well," Kakashi said, "That's the rumor. They are very close." He admitted, "Although it's mainly on Sasuke's side. Grace doesn't seem to realize anything, much to Sasuke, and all their friends', frustration."

"It's like a romance novel," Kurenai said. "Well, I have to say it's nice to see Sasuke in a good mood. I mean, I remember right after the Uchiha incident, the poor child was so distraught."

"He was for a long time… until she came around of course," Kakashi said.

There was a moment of silence. The taller of the strangely dressed men moved slightly, realizing quickly after the conversation started with the people outside the sweet shop were talking about one of their objectives. The shorter man just gazed at his drink, his eyes calculating.

"Kakashi."

Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma looked up to see Sasuke approach them.

"It's very different of you to arrive first…" Sasuke said.

"Well, for some occasions…."

Sasuke felt movement within the shop and glanced in. It was empty. "I was planning on buying some sweats… for Grace." Sasuke said. "She's not doing too well… and she always cheers up when given anything with sugar in it."

"That's very considerate of you." Kakashi said. "I'm sure it will do wonders."

"Oh yes," Kurenai said, "I heard from the Jounin Meeting today, which you missed," Kakashi laughed uneasily, "That Jiraiya wants to Grace out of the village with that Naruto… the committee gave him the free to go. I think they leave tomorrow."

Sasuke just stared at her. Then, forgetting about the sweets he was planning on buying, he disappeared.

"I wonder what that was all about…" Kurenai said, "I didn't say anything I shouldn't have…?"

"Well," Kakashi said, "Let's just say Jiraiya will be having a hard time convincing _someone_ to let him take Grace along."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"And I'll actually be able to walk?" I asked, eyeing the strange looking brace with almost displeasure. "It sounds kind of… whacky."

The nurse shook her head, "No, no, it's alright. It will take getting used to and it might hurt a bit at first, but we had it fitted to you…" so _that's_ who that creepy man was… "And it should work perfectly. The brace, it's more like a shoe… it's designed for someone who is missing toes, it will balance for you so that you can eventually walk and run normally…" she frowned. "The doctors say, if you're up to it, in a few months we might even be able to create some 'fake toes' as it is called."

"Fake toes?" I asked, my legs dangling off the bed. My arm was now in a sling, and I was almost up to full health.

"Yes… it's sort of similar to the puppet technique… there are very few who are capable of doing and none of them here…"

Probably Tsuande is one of them… I thought. "Well, let's try it on." The nurse nodded and knelt down, and carefully slid the brace on, the tightened the Velcro straps tightly. "There," she said, "It just looks a little big for a shoe, but it should work perfectly!"

"I don't care about appearances," I said. I, with her support, stood up. I gave a little yelp from the shock I got. I didn't expect it to be so weird feeling to stand without toes. She lowered me back to sitting on the bed. I gently pressed my foot against the floor, getting used to the feeling.

The nurse, and myself for that matter, jumped about a foot in surprise when the door opened and slammed against the wall with a bang.

"Sasuke…?" I asked, a little worried, "What's the matter?"

He just stood there, breathing hard, and then advanced, almost angrily. The nurse tried to stand in the way but he pushed her out of the way. "Is it true?" he demanded.

"Is what true?" I asked, seriously getting a little frightened. I knew Sasuke wouldn't _purposefully_ hurt me, so I motioned for the nurse to leave us alone. "I don't know what you're doing," I said.

"Are you leaving with Naruto and Jiraiya to go on a mission?"

I blinked at him. They haven't left yet? "I really don't know what you're talking about." I said, "I mean, I haven't heard of any mission… I mean, I've heard of the mission, but I haven't heard of _me_ going on mission… are you still mad at me for making that baby-machine joke?" I demanded, "You _do_ realize that it was a joke right? I mean, I was just teasing—but seriously, take it easy on her," I said, "You're not going to be the one pushing out the babies so you won't understand."

"You're changing the subject."

"No," I said, "You are! You're the one making her have twenty children."

"Why are you so defensive about this?"

"Why are _you_ so defensive about this?" I asked, "You're only the one who got her pregnant you're not the one who has to do all the hard work!"

He just stared at me, as if unsure of how to respond to that, "Grace…" he said, "As far as I now, I _don't_ have any children, so why are you yelling at me for getting y—someone pregnant?"

"Whoa—whoa—whoa…" I said, "You said 'Y'."

Sasuke paled slightly.

"Do you like someone—does her name start with 'y'—it does doesn't it—what's she like?"

He opened his mouth, and then closed it. "I—sometimes," he said, "I really don't know how you can possibly have a brain."

"Is that an insult?" I asked, suspiciously.

"I rest my case…" Sasuke muttered. "Well, are you?"

"What?" I asked. Was he asking if I was _pregnant?!_ The nerve…

"Going on the mission?"

"No," I said, "Really, no one has asked _me_ to go on a mission, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm not going."

He looked relieved. In fact, I've never seen him look so relieved in my life. "Good." He said. "Promise me you won't go."

"Nobody has even asked me yet," I said, "So why are you worried?"

"What if they ask as soon as soon as I leave?" Sasuke pointed out. "Promise me you'll stay in the village-safe—in the village."

"I promise," I said, smiling, "Why are you so worried all of a sudden?"

"I just… don't want anything to happen to you."

I smiled at him, "Nothing is going to happen to me," I said, "I'm still alive and I was captured by Gaara, right? That's not something that anyone can boast, I'll have you know."

"Grace!" Sakura sang as she opened the door. She froze when she saw Sasuke, "I _always_ come in at the wrong times," she muttered angrily at herself. "I came with some sweets from Anko," she said.

"Why would the sadistic woman give me sweets?" I asked, suspicious.

Sakura shrugged, "I don't know, she took a liking of you at the Chuunin Exams, I think."

"I see…" I said. "Well, that's nice of her…" I took the sweets and opened the box. "Oh my, I think these are her favorites…"

"You don't like them?" Sakura asked.

"No…" I said, "I've just never had them before… oh!" I said, "Sakura, there's something I need to talk to you about—Sasuke?" I said, smiling, "I'll see you later."

"You promise—that you won't leave?" he asked.

I sighed. "_Yes_, I promise—now _go_."

I waved and he walked out.

"What was that all about?" Sakura asked, coming in and sitting on a chair.

I shrugged my shoulders, "You know, I really don't have a clue… I don't have a clue…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto smiled happily as he slurped up the noodles. He didn't even notice when Jiraiya appeared behind him.

With a mockingly crazed look on his face, Jiraiya said, "I heard this is where you go to all the time. It's really true. You always come here to eat ramen…"

Naruto turned around, his face also mockingly surprised, "HAA!" he said through a mouthful of noodles, "If's fa ferbert shage!"

"We've got a mission." Jiraiya said, sitting down next to Naruto, "I'm going on a mission. And I need you, and Grace, to come with me."

"Isn't she still in the hospital?" Naruto asked, slurping up the rest of his ramen, "I mean, I just saw her yesterday and the doctor said she shouldn't move around—wait a second!!!" Naruto said, pointing accusingly at Jiraiya, "Even if she _could_ go she can't go because she can't walk!"

Jiraiya slapped a hand over his eyes, "I already dealt with that…" he said, tiredly, "She can walk, trust me."

Naruto stared at him, "She _grew toes?!_" he asked in awe.

Jiriaya hit him hard over the head, "No, you _idiot_, she's wearing a—you know, you wouldn't understand unless you saw it. Regardless, I need you to come with me."

"Well," Naruto said, "Fine, I'll go convince her… but you have to as well!" he said, pointing at him, "I don't know how well she'll listen to us."

"I have a feeling…" Jiraiya said, "That she won't give us any trouble."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So…" Sakura said, "_That's_ what you're worried around?"

I nodded, biting my lip, "I just… I've never felt… it's just all too new, you know?"

Sakura nodded, a look of regret on her face, "Are you sure…" she asked, hoping the answer wouldn't confirm her fears.

I nodded, opening my mouth to answer when the door opened. "_Now_ what?" I asked, irritated as Naruto and Jiraiya came in. "What is it with people and coming in when they're not supposed to?! What is it, always interrupt Grace's important discussions day?"

Naruto just stared at me, his mouth going slightly ajar as he tried to imagine what my point was. Jiraiya ignored his short companion. "Actually, Grace," He said, suddenly serious, and much more serious than I've seen him in a while… then again… I haven't really seen him a while… "I have a mission for you…" his eyes glanced sideways at Sakura. She just sat there and then jumped up and politely apologized, bowed and left, flashing me a smile as she left.

"A mission?" I asked, a nasty ball forming in my gut. I had a feeling I'm going to regret promising Sasuke I wouldn't leave the village… "What kind of mission?" I leaned back into the bed, trying to calm myself, and hoping it wasn't, and also that it would be, what I thought it was.

"We—Naruto and I—are in search for the fifth Hokage…" Jiraiya continued, "Tsunade—I'm sure you've heard of her."

"Ah," I said, "Yes, I know all about her."

Jiraiya gave me a knowing look, and then said, "We need you to come with us."

I just stared at him, "But…" I said, "I…. won't… accomplish anything by going. I mean, I'll just end up being in the way. Just like… the Chuunin Exams." I added the last part bitterly.

"I understand your concern," Jiraiya said, "But I'm afraid that there's really nothing for it. It is an order issued from the Konoha Committee, and now there's no changing your mind." Except that I didn't have a choice in the first place, I thought, annoyed. "And," Jiraiya said, "You won't have those pesty ANBU following you. It'll be just Naruto, you and me."

I just stared at him, "You know," I said, "That's not very comforting."

"Regardless," he said, "Of whether or not you think it's comforting, the point is that you don't have a choice in the matter. You _are_ coming. I hope you realize what violating the rules and orders from the Konoha Committee means? Remember your experience when you first came here? Imagine something _much_, _much_ worse."

I gulped. The prospect was not comforting. I'll just have to explain to Sasuke… that I… duty calls. I hated it, because I knew that Sasuke trusted my word, that I wouldn't leave, but… I just can't get out of this. I know Sasuke won't… I know he'll disapprove. But still, he shouldn't worry about me being safe, I mean, I'm with one of the Legendary Three, if anyone can protect me it's him. He's even stronger than Tsunade and she potentially becomes Hokage. I'll probably be in the safest hands… I narrowed my eyes at him. I wonder if that's his plan. No doubt, if I remember correctly, this is when Akatsuki starts to move around more, and perhaps I'm in danger due to… Oh, I don't know, everything that's made me in danger so far… Maybe this is a way for Konoha's Committee to kill two birds with one stone—find the fifth Hokage and protect me. I sighed, "I'll go."

Naruto grinned, "This will be so much fun—and I'll protect you from Pervert here," Jiriaya whined comically, "_And_," he said, "We can look for the fifth Hokage… this is great!" he punched the air enthusiastically, attempting to brighten the mood.

I smiled, not very enthused, but pretending regardless.

"Naruto," Jiraiya said, "Leave the room for a moment, I want to talk to Grace alone."

Naruto gave him a suspicious thought, then nodded and left.

Jiraiya took some seemingly menacing steps forward, then said, in a serious tone, "When you say 'I know all about her', I'm guessing you're talking about this, so called, "Gift" of yours that the higher ups are talking about. The… ability to see the future, if I'm not mistaken."

I shook my head, "I… It's hard to explain. It's not _seeing_ the future, it's just that… I can see one path, but if anything changes, and then I'll be in the blue, just like you guys." I frowned, "That's why it doesn't make sense for me to go with you guys, because what I know doesn't involve me at all."

"Doesn't involve you?" Jiraiya asked, intrigued.

"Yes," I said, "Why?"

Jiraiya considered, then said, "I don't have a clue." But for some reason, I knew he was hiding the truth. "But you have seen Tsunade?"

"Yes," I said, "As far as I know, she will become the Fifth Hokage."

He smiled, "That's good. The jobs almost done."

"Not quite," I pointed out, "Me being there might change everything."

"Ah," he said, "But you being there will give us an advantage. And, if anything starts going the wrong way, you can tell us how to redirect."

I studied this theory for a moment, then said, "I never really thought about it that way—I suppose I just thought that you couldn't change what happened, and that once something happened, it would be too late… I guess it never crossed my mind that I could 'redirect' as you call it back to the original p—what I saw."

He nodded, "I presume that you're leaving the hospital today?" I nodded, "Good. Prepare, have one of your friends—or someone you know—get the supplies you'll need. We leave the day after tomorrow."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"The Leaf Ninja sure take their time," Kisame said, almost complaining, "We've been here for a while, why not just swoop in and snag them?"

"The reason they're taking their time is because they have to make sure that _she_ is up to standards for making the trip," Itachi said, coolly, "And, in order to properly perform the test, we must have her secluded from the village."

Kisame shrugged, "If it were up to _me_," he said, "We'd have had her and brought her back to the Leader by now."

"We can't risk our spy being found out," Itachi said, "He is already in jeopardy, we can't have him linked to this attack."

"Sure we can trust him?" Kisame said, "I've never liked the look of that guy—he's too close to that traitor—"

Itachi silenced him with a look, "We shall wait." He said, simply.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"And take three in the evening _every_ day, and don't forget to keep off that foot for most of the time, and if it hurts ice it, but not too much, and everything evening or when you go to bed use a hot water pillow—or anything you have that's warm—to keep it comfortable." The nurse smiled.

"Thanks," I said. I was finally dressed in normal clothing, not those hospital frocks that made one feel like one was naked… which was awkward when people like Sasuke barge in out of the blue, and my foot cast was one. I was holding in my hands a bottle of pills, which had a really strange name.

"Are you sure you have to go on that mission?" The nurse said. She didn't know _what_ the mission was, of course, all she knew was that I was going on one. "You really shouldn't move around that much."

"I don't think I'll have to," I lied.

"You still have a place to stay?" The nurse asked, "I heard that they're renovating the Hokage's mansion for the incoming Fifth Hokage, whoever he or she might be… your cousin—brother—well, the Honorable Grandson is staying with his sensei, Ebisu, for the meanwhile, but I'm not sure where you'll be staying. I think they expected you to stay in the hospital a little longer."

I shrugged, "I have a place to stay," I lied again.

She sighed in relief, "Good, now, have a nice day—and don't forget to take the pills!"

I nodded.

I walked out the doors, limping awkwardly, and then stared up at the sky, blocking it with my arm, "Where to go…" I could stay at Naruto's… or maybe even Sakura's… but I didn't want to be a bother to Sakura's family… and Naruto's apartment only has one bed… and… I frowned; I _could_ stay at Sasuke's… I mean, there are plenty of empty room I could stay in. I could even stay in one of the empty houses—no, that would creep me out too much.

I don't think Sasuke would object if I stayed at his house for the night, two nights really. I'm sure by the time we come back from the mission there will be a place for me to stay. I glanced at the street. If only I knew where the Uchiha compound _was_. Normally, either there another person with me, or I'd, by luck or coincidence, wonder upon it. I don't think I've ever _really_ took the time to memorize a way to it. Well, that's not true. I knew how to get to it from my house—the Hokage's mansion, but, from the hospital? It's sad, I've been here enough times that I _should_ have memorized how to get to everywhere from here.

One thing I knew, it was _way_ too far to walk. Not normally, but with this foot? Totally.

"May I be of assistance?"

I turned around and smiled, before I could even stop myself. "Ryuichi!" I cried, "I'm so glad to see you!" I put my hands on my hips, "I was very upset when they told me you weren't stalking me anymore."

"I knew you liked it," Ryuichi grinned, "Where are you going?"

"The Uchiha Compound," I said, "I was going to see if I can stay there until…"

"Until your mission," Ryuichi said, "Yea, I know, they told the ANBU and Jounin about it so that we'd know what was going on. Don't like the idea personally, too many things could go wrong and you could get hurt again, but…" he sighed, "Can't go against the rules."

I took a moment to look at him thoroughly. It was the first time I saw him outside his ANBU gear. I mean, even when he was in the shop all those months ago he was at least wearing normal ninja gear. But this time… he looked like the average civilian (albeit a very in shape civilian) walking through the streets. Jeens, a jacket… he was very… well, for no better word, _hot._ He reached out and poked me in the forehead, "Earth to Grace," he said, "Well, do you need help getting there," he looked ruefully at my foot, "It looks like you do."

"I…yes," I said, reluctantly.

He, like a prince, gently lifted me into his arms, carrying me like a princess, "Well," he said, "Your wish is my command."

The breath was knocked out of me as he ran at inhuman speed towards the Uchiha Compound. I didn't even have time to think before we were there. "Soo.. fast," I said, shakily as he set me down carefully. "Thanks," I said, gratefully.

"Will you be alright now?" he asked.

I nodded, "Thank you," I repeated.

"Well," he said, "I've gotto' go, see ya'!" he waved then disappeared. I glanced at my surroundings, and thought that the two ANBU protecting me were probably around me somewhere. It was creepy.

I wasn't lying when I said I missed him. Having him not being there all the time sort of left an empty feeling… the same feeling I always got when my older siblings left for collage or just left home. I didn't like the idea of two people I didn't know following me around. At least with Ryuichi, I knew he was a _person_. That he was _human._ And he didn't intrude (most of the time). Now I felt like I didn't have a moment's privacy. I mean, it was strange, knowing that when I talk to someone, no matter how private it may be, I'll always have _those_ people listening to me and watching me. When I shower… change… eat… during _everything_ they will be there watching. For my protection, I knew… but… I didn't feel… I felt like I was in a cage, a large cage, so large that I could almost forget I was captive, but all I have to do is remember that there are those two, and perhaps even more, watching and keeping an eye on me… and most likely, it's not even just to protect me. I had no doubts that the ANBU were reporting my every movement to the Konoha Committee and higher ups. I sighed. I was envious. When you think of falling into the world you wished to be in, you never really think that you might end up like this… I suppose it makes sense, although I hate it.

I turned and then frowned. Since when was the gate locked?

I put my hand on one of the bars and started to shake it, then cried in shock as it came flying loose and knocked me to the ground. My face heated up. Well, at least it wasn't locked…

He must have heard my yell, because moments later a very concerned and amused looking Sasuke appeared next to me. "What did you try to do?" he asked, half chuckling at my predicament, "Challenge the gate?"

I glared at him. "_No_." I said, "I just… was trying to get it open…" I looked away in embarrassment. I held out my hand and he took it, helping me lift myself to my feat. There was a moment in which neither of us let go of the other's hand, and it surprised me. I looked at our hands, wondering why we weren't letting go, when suddenly Sasuke dropped mine like it was on fire. "AH," I said, returning to reality, "Well, I was wondering… because the Hokage's Mansion is… well, otherwise not suitable for living in at the moment… if I could stay at your house."

He blinked, "You want to stay at my house?"

"Just for two nights," I said, "I promise that I won't be a bother, and it will only be for those nights—I can even pay you!"

He looked insulted at the thought of me paying him, and shook his head, "You can stay for as long as you like," he said. "I really don't mind."

I smiled, "Thanks," I walked, awkwardly.

"Eh," he said, glancing at my foot with a worried expression, "Will you be ok?"

"Yeah," I said, but I wasn't so sure to tell you the truth.

"Put those down," he said, "I'll get them later." I put, as he instructed, my things on the inside of the gate so they wouldn't be stolen.

"Thanks," I said.

He shook his head, and then said, "Do you need any help?"

_Yes,_ I thought. "Sure," I said, reaching an arm out. He gingerly ducked under it to support me, resting my arm over his shoulders. Together, we made our way to his house. I never really paid attention to the ghost houses around his, but his was the biggest and nicest by far, although I wasn't sure whether that was technically true or because he kept his up to date and clean and the like.

We got into the house and he disappeared and reappeared in a moment with my very small bag of things. I left most of my stuff at the Mansion, because truthfully I didn't need it all at the hospital. "Is this all?" he asked, putting the bag down.

I nodded, "I won't need a place to stay for long, just a two nights."

He nodded.

I noticed that there was something missing. Not in the house, but in our conversations. It was… the fact that I wasn't bringing up the fact I was going on a mission. Maybe it was because I didn't have a death wish and really didn't want Sasuke to kill me for going on a mission that could potentially lead to my death…

That had to be it. I knew that if Sasuke found out I lied and was actually going on a mission; although I didn't know about it when I made the promise… I don't think he'll be very happy with me, and to tell you the truth I don't like the idea of letting him down. "So…" I said, "I'll sleep on the couch." I knew, from past experiences, that Sasuke neither looked at nor entered the other bedrooms, which was most likely because they held painful memories of his family. I knew that there was at least two guest bedrooms in this house, but I doubt, seeing as whenever I ventured in Sasuke would immediantly remove me, that he didn't like disturbing _those_ rooms either. This meant that the only room usable was his room, and I wasn't about to—

"I'll sleep on the couch," Sasuke said, "You can sleep in my room."

"That's not fair," I complained, "Then _you'll_ be uncomfortable."

"I really don't care," he said, "Besides, if you sleep on the couch you'll complain."

"That's not true," I huffed defensively. It wasn't. I wasn't _that..._ ok… never mind… "Well, thanks, you don't have to do any of this, you know. It's really nice of you to help out." I sat on the couch. Or, more like one of the many in his living room. We never, unless I invited people over, did much in this room; it was sort of almost like a decoration. Mainly I was in the kitchen or in the bedroom… ok, that sounded wrong, but what I meant was I didn't really spend time in this room. "I wonder how Naruto's been… I haven't seen him a little while, as in, a few hours ago, but… you know, the kid could potentially destroy himself in just a couple hours."

Sasuke, sitting across from me, seemed to stiffen, which he had been doing a lot of lately, at the mention of Naruto. I wondered if he and Naruto got into another fight. That would be depressing, seeing as they seem to be on friendly terms recently. But from Sasuke's body language, I knew that something was up. Something _bad._ I thought about what happened, and concluded that it had to do with Gaara. From the fragments that people managed to tell me before being interrupted by someone else, and from what Sakura told me, Sasuke isn't very happy with Naruto for being the one who beat Gaara. This is understandable, but why would he be upset when _I _said it. It really doesn't make any sense at all.

"So," Sasuke said, changing the subject, "I'm guessing you have new ANBU guards?" he nodded his head in the direction on the window. I looked, but saw nothing. I'm not surprised that Sasuke was able to sense them.

I nodded, "Yeah, but I'm not fond of the idea. I miss Ryuichi."

Sasuke gave me a peculiar look, "Do you miss him?" he asked, curiously, leaning forward slightly.

I nodded, "Of course, he was… like a big brother to me." I shook my head, "I mean, I just saw him, and he seems to be doing fine—it was just a job, after all!" I laughed, trying to cover up the fact that it made more upset than I was letting on. I didn't want Sasuke to know I was upset… but unfortunately Sasuke knew me better than that. From the look he gave me, I knew that _he_ knew I was upset, but he seemed to skip over it, which was relieving.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be training?" I asked before I realized he had asked me a question.

"Ah," he said, "I took the day off."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well," he said, "Truthfully, I was training by myself, without Kakashi or anyone else, but then I heard you…"

My face heated a little, "Having a battle with the gate—I _know._"I shook my head, "It's not my fault I'm not used to that gate…." There was an awkward silence again. I glanced at my hands, studying them, and decided that the next chance I had I'd cut my finger nails. They apparently didn't cut them when I was in a comma and I didn't have chance while bed ridden. I also decided that I would take a shower, to wipe the hospital feel from me as fast as I could. "Hey," I said, "Could I take a shower?"

He blinked, "A shower? Eh—sure," he said, "You can use my bathroom, upstairs. It's the only one with a shower that's…"

"Not one of the other room's." I finished. "I know where it is." I said.

"Yes," he said dryly, "I know."

"Why are you the one saying it with that sarcastic tone?" I asked, "I was the one that got the short hand of that prank battle."

He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips, then said, "You can go up now, if you want."

"Sure," I said, "I'll be quick, I promise."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I feel like I need, yet again, to clarify how clean Sasuke is. I mean, his bathroom looks like it could have been taken out of a magazine. Seriously. I feel like this wasn't the first time I took a shower here, either… or maybe I'm just remembering when I had to switch the shampoo's… ah, whatever. I slid my hand over my hair as I turned to water off, breathing in the steam one last time before pulling the curtain. I stepped out, fumbled around in the fog before I found a towel and wrapped it around myself before going into Sasuke's room. His room was huge, did I ever mention that? I looked around to see that I left my bag of stuff downstairs. I cursed my bad luck. I wasn't going to get back into the clothes I just got out of, since those were just some… well, I didn't want to. I wanted to get into _fresh_, _clean_ clothes that didn't stink of hospital, which was the whole reason of taking the shower in the first place. I opened the door and called Sasuke's name, but there wasn't an answer. I glanced from side to side, decided it was safe and snuck downstairs.

I couldn't remember where he had put my bag… I figured it must be in the living room, so I walked through the space between the kitchen and the living room, glancing curiously at the large empty dining room that I've never really seen the inside of, and, wondering if there was much more of the house I've never seen, made it to the living room. I halted when I reached it, a smile spreading on my face.

Sasuke was _sleeping_; bless him, on the couch. No wonder he didn't respond. He must have been training pretty hard if he didn't wake up when I called his name, or when I entered the living room. Then again…I wonder if he's sick… I tiptoed over to him and peered over his head, glancing at the spot on his neck where he had the curse mark. It was there, and it was glowing, ever so slightly. He must have been training to control it, I thought, _that's _why he's so exhausted that he fell asleep. I decided I wouldn't wake him, I'd let him sleep so that he could recover faster. I took a step back, so I could properly stand up straight, when Sasuke rolled over to his side. I stared in horror as the tip of my towel slid underneath him, causing the towel, and me, to be immobile. Of course, I grabbed the towel tighter to make sure, when I took that step back, which at that point I couldn't stop, from completely removing my towel from my body. I just stood there, in a position similar to when people play Twister, barely balancing enough to keep myself upright, my mind racing at what to do. I didn't want to wake Sasuke up, because I wanted him to sleep, and I also didn't want him to wake up with me hovering over him in nothing but a towel… and if I yelled to my ANBU guard, that would probably wake Sasuke up, and I didn't want _them_ to get involved… I wondered how I was going to get myself out of this mess.

Sasuke rolled his other side, releasing my towel but in the process causing me to completely topple over.

Unfortunately, any chances of keeping Sasuke asleep totally went down the drain when I fell.

That's because, you see, I fell _forward._

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ok, I know what you're all thinking, but I couldn't resist. I thought the ending was a little inappropriate, but I just… I thought it's been a while since I added some funny stuff, and I was in a humorous mood, so I just had to do it. If you don't like it… I'm sorry. If you do, then you'll love the beginning of the next chapter. Anyway, I was actually able to respond to people's reviews this time, even though it was late, and I want to thank you all for reviewing, and encourage others to do so as well. It's very encouraging when people review and it's also helpful when I hear your opinions. Anyway, the next chapter should be posted within a week of today.

fUnKyToEs


	37. The Fifth Hokage: Part III

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part III

WORDS: 6, 209

DISCLAIMER: I have to claim to the story or characters of _Naruto_

WARNING: Light Sexual Humor

BEFOREWORD: Sorry for getting this in so slowly, but I unfortunately got pre-frostbite on my right hand (it wasn't bad, just at the stage right before it starts to freeze) and I wasn't able to type properly for a day or two… And even now, it feels like I've got arthritis. I suppose it's my fault for being outside for too long when it's so cold…

Well, enjoy this chapter.

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He cocked his head, hearing the small boy walk slowly behind him, and then plodded off into the bushes, looking for something to play with. There wasn't much around, it was it quite boring just walking, but it was better than being cooped up in a house all day. His floppy ears flicked at a noise and he inhaled deeply. _rabbit._ Gleefully he bounded after the small creature, happy for the excitement chasing other animals always gave him, and then he stopped when Boy called him. He skidded to a halt and then bounced back through the bushes and leapt out from the small cluster of trees to the marsh/beach that surrounded one of the few ponds in the Konohakagure village area. He barked giddily and jump/ran towards Boy, happy to see him as if he hadn't for a hundred years. He slowed to a slow trot when he neared Boy, sensing that Boy was upset about something. What was Boy upset about?

Konohamaru picked up a rock and threw it into the pond. He watched it _almost_ skip, but then it just sank with a plop. He sighed. It had been almost two weeks now… since Gramp's death. He had gone to see his… he didn't remember if Grace was his cousin or sister, but it didn't matter. At first he saw her every day, but then, when she woke up, he just couldn't bring himself to go. He didn't know why, it wasn't like he was mad at her or anything. It was more… he didn't know how to react, how to… what to say. He felt like he couldn't stand to see Grace upset, and he knew she would fall apart if she saw him.

Bingly barked sympathetically, looking up at him with large brown eyes. Konohamaru smiled weakly and petted the small dog on the head. Bingly shook his head vigorously and tore off into the distance, bounding back with a stick that was far too large for a dog his size to carry. He dropped it at Konohamaru's feet. Konohamaru picked it up, and realized that it was also too big for him to hold properly as well, but threw it anyway. Had it been anyone but a ninja, they would have had trouble.

Bingly happily tore after the stick, his tail wagging so ferociously that his entire body seemed to writhe, causing him to have a rather jumpy and uneven run.

Bingly found Konohamaru immediately after the attack. It seems he realized that he would be no good against Gaara, and went for the next best: him. The little dog has stuck by Konohamaru's side since, although he was always more than enthusiastic to see Grace. The little dog was so obsessive about that girl… Konohamaru knew Bingly was a stray that she found, and he must have been a nin-dog, or at least bred to be one, because he was intelligent, more intelligent than most humans Konohamaru knew. He always seemed to be listening to conversations, and one could almost _see_ his mind evaluating what he heard.

He was a _very_ interesting creature.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto grinned mischievously as he peeked around the corner, then sprang back into protective mode. He couldn't _believe_ his luck. Here he was, impatient to get on with the mission, when he stumbled across the girl of his dreams training…

That's right, if only her sadistic trainer wasn't there…

Sakura looked up, swearing she saw a flash of bright florescent yellow behind on the walls of the large houses that surrounded the ally that she an Anko-sensei where training in. She narrowed her eyes and sighed. She had a clue who it was. She glanced up at the sky. It was a bright day, relatively. A few clouds here and there… She grinned as she thought about what the nurse had told her.

"_She's not here?" Sakura asked, surprised._

"_What the hell?" Naruto said, "Where did she go? Home?"_

_The nurse smiled apologetically, although Sakura really didn't know why, "No, the Hokage's mansion is being refurnished and renovated for the new Hokage… I'm not sure where she's going… actually…" She frowned, "Maybe I should have asked before she was released…"_

_**Yeah,**__ Sakura thought, __**That might be smart…**_

"_She's at Uchiha's." a voice said behind them._

_Naruto and Sakura turned around to see Ryuichi behind them. He grinned cheerfully at them, then flashed the nurse a smile. She blushed and mumbled something, then rushed off, peering at him from her desk. Sakura and Naruto glanced at each other dryly. Yup, they always guessed he was a player, they just didn't realize he was so good all it took was a smile. Sakura really couldn't blame the nurse. If Ryuichi smiled that way at __**her**__ Sakura knew that she would probably swoon and faint right there. She rarely saw the ANBU without his mask off, but when she did, it was hard not to stare. He was definitely not lacking in looks. _

"_So…" Sakura said, "She's at Sasuke's house?"_

"_That's where I left her," he shrugged. "Ah well, I wanted to double back…" he said, "And tell you kids."_

"_Hey!" Naruto said, "What were you…" he trailed off, "I forgot what I was going to say…"_

_Sakura and Ryuichi glanced at each other, then they both started to laugh at the boy, "This is __**great**__ though," Sakura said, "I mean, Grace is staying at Sasuke's house!"_

"_Yeah…" Naruto grumbled. _

"_What's so bad about that?" Sakura asked him. "I thought you wanted them to get together?"_

"_I do!" Naruto said, "I just… I just… I __**disapprove**__ of them sleeping in the same house, that's all…" he stomped off out of the hospital._

"_You know," Sakura said, "I think that he's sort of become Grace's protective __**'older'**__ brother!"_

There was a yelp of surprise and pain and Anko emerged from behind said wall, carrying a very upset Naruto by his ear. He yelped and kicked and Anko threw him to the ground, "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing, here, brat?" she demanded, "My student and I are training!"

"Well," Naruto said, folding his arms and pouting. "I was just taking a walk, that's all."

The situation was so familiar. It was a situation that he had been in almost every day of his life; Him, sitting on the ground being yelled at for something that was, in his opinion, _nothing_ to get angry over, and one of the village's ninja or civilians standing over him.

"_Oh, you were, were you?_" Anko asked in a sickly sweat voice.

Naruto gulped. Even Sakura looked a little upset. Sakura knew that tone. It wasn't something the victim _wanted_ to hear from her sensei.

"Then," Anko said, patting Naruto on his head harshly, "Go by me some sweats!"

"What?!?!" Naruto said, "No! Not a chance!"

Anko's face was suddenly _very_ close to Narutos, "What was that?"

"I'm going! I'm going!" Naruto rushed off.

Anko sighed, "Sometimes… that kid is just too…" she shook her head, "So, did you hear about that mission that they're going on?"

"What mission?" Sakura asked.

"The pervert, the brat and that girl—Grace," Anko grinned, "Apparently they're going on a mission of some sort."

Sakura bit her lip. How was… how would Grace be able to last on a mission? Normally, Sakura didn't truthfully think that Grace would last on _any_ mission, but in her current condition… there's no _way_ she'll survive. And why Grace? She thought, why is Grace always the center of attention. It was jealousy, it was worry. Sakura didn't like all the attention that the older girl was getting, because it wasn't the _right_ sort of attention. It was dangerous. With Orochimaru, the Sand… it seems like they all want Grace. _I don't think Grace realizes the danger she's in._ Sakura thought, _She's already become a prime subject for kidnap and assassination… _Sakura sighed, _Grace… Does she know? She seems to take things for granted here, like nothing can go wrong… hasn't it already been proven that everything can go wrong? Didn't her getting kidnapped by Gaara already proven that? What more will it take for her to realize that… that things __**can**__ go wrong? What more has to be done? _Sakura shook her head, _I just hope… that when it does, it won't be too late… _Sakura thought of the fortune telling at the sleep over at Grace's house, just a month or so ago. They had all dismissed it as a joke, it _was_ just a play deck of cards… _And yet, I can't shake the feeling of foreboding. I know… when Grace __**does**__ realize… It will have drastic effects. She probably won't even be the same person anymore…_ the thought was upsetting. Grace? Not being the clumsy, ditzy, silly, and ignorant girl she always is? It was like saying the sky was green. _But it will happen._ Sakura thought, _When you see as much death and destruction as she will see… it will all start to disappear. _

"Are you worried?" Anko asked.

"A little," Sakura admitted.

"Yeah," Anko said, "I'm worried about the girl too… Maybe I should get her more sweets…"

"Why are _you_ worried?" Sakura asked, interested as to why her sensei showed a keen interest in the girl even though her sensei was notorious for not… liking a lot of people and pissing off everyone else.

Anko shrugged, "I don't know," she said, "She's good at keeping secrets…. I guess."

"What kind of secrets?" Sakura asked.

Anko gave her a secretive smile, "I'm sure," she said, "In good time you'll realize just _how_ special Grace is."

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Naruto walked through the streets with sagging shoulders. That woman… she was the definition of… of "EVIL!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, stamping the ground with his feet.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kiba asked, just a few feet away. He was standing with his team, minus their leader, and they were all, with the exception of Hinata and Shino, so just Kiba, staring at him like he was crazy. It wasn't a far off accusation.

"I'm just talking about that—you know, the crazy girl who was the proctor for the second exam."

"Dude," Kiba said, "She's a total bitch!"

"Um…" Hinata mumbled, "You… you shouldn't…" she twiddled her thumbs awkwardly, unable to get her teammate's attention.

"Yeah," Naruto said, "I mean, she's so mean—and bossy! Who does she think she is, anyway?"

"Yeah," Kiba said, "I totally agree—she's a total—"

"Hey!" A girl yelled as she bumped into Naruto, "What the hell are ya' doing here in the middle of the street! At least get to the side if you're going to have a fucking conversation with someone!"

Naruto turned around to look at the girl who had walked into him. She was a little taller than he was, and couldn't have been much older. She looked around his age. She had what one would call a boy's figure, although that didn't stop her from wearing a tube top and short shorts. High boots, dyed hair (multiple colors) and multiple crazy-long pigtails, she was the definition of… eccentric.

She glared at Naruto. It took a moment for Naruto to recognize the strangely decorated head protector she wore on her thigh. She's a ninja from this village, Naruto thought, I wonder why I've never seen her before. Then again, Naruto's observational skills were never that good. She had looks, but was too boyish and hot-tempered looking to be attractive. "Well, are you going to apologize, you little brat?"

"It's not my fault you walked into me," Naruto yelled, "You should have watched where you were going!"

"Why you little…" she raised her fists up in the air, ready to aim a direct hit when her arm was caught by a strawberry blonde beauty.

Naruto just stared at her. She was truly beautiful. Beyond beautiful. She was… worthy of being a model. She was very well developed, her hair was long and curly, and she had deep purple eyes. She glanced at Naruto, curious, "You're Naruto Uzumaki, correct?" from her voice, Naruto decided she must be in her late twenties or early thirties. Naruto and Kiba just stared at her, drooling.

"Sensei!" the girl said, "Sorry—this kid just got in my way—I lost my temper again…" her head sagged, depressed.

The woman's eyes glanced at the girl, then she said, "Don't worry, I'm not mad. I'm just glad I got here before something bad happened." She looked Naruto up and down, "Very curious… You're sensei is Kakashi Hatake, correct?"

"Uh yeah—how'd'ya' know?" he asked.

She smiled a little 'knowing' smile, "Why, Kakashi is a celebrity among ninja, surely you knew that!" she glanced at the girl, "Well, we should probably get going," she turned to look at Naruto, "We'll see you soon."

She and the girl turned around and walked away.

"I can't believe it! Our first day back after five years and I totally screw it! I mean—here I thought I had a little self control!"

"Don't sweat it; you've improved a lot since you were eight."

"Yeah, but it's been five years since then!" the girl complained.

Their voices dimmed into the loud chatter of the street.

"That was odd," Naruto said, "I wonder if we've met those people."

"Did you hear them?" Kiba said, "They haven't been in the village in five years—that's an awfully long time to be away—right?"

"Yeah…" Naruto said, "I wonder what they were doing."

"They were, I believe," Shino said, "Posted in the northern regions of the fire country."

"You know them?" Kiba asked, surprised.

Shino gazed at his teammate, "I've heard of them," he said. He turned around and began to walk in the direction that his team was headed in.

"Well," Kiba said, "Something tells me we won't be seeing them again." He bounded after his team mate, Hinata uttering a small squeak to Naruto and hurrying off, red faced, after them.

Naruto pushed the two mysterious women out of his head. Kiba was right. Besides, who cares?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It took all my self-control not to shriek.

Sasuke's eyes flew open the moment we made contact. There was a moment, in which they were still glazed over in exhaustion, then they widened in surprise and confusion as he calculated exactly what kind of situation he was in. He seemed to try to push himself up and out from under than me, but he was so quick that I wasn't able to respond in time, I fell completely on top of him, my chin hitting the pillow to the side his head. To my horror, the towel had caught under him again, causing it to slip down. One of my legs, my right one, was in-between him and the back of the couch, while my left leg dangled off the couch. We just stared into each other's eyes, both mimicking shock, and it seemed like eternity. Not the good kind of eternity, like when you gaze into someone's eyes and there's just that strange kind of connection… no, this was the kind of eternity that you just want to go away but no matter what you try it just doesn't work and the situation just gets worse and worse and more and more awkward until all that's left is the panicking feeling that if you don't break that awkward connection something _really_, _really_ bad is going to happen. _That_ was what this was like.

"I…I…" I said, not being able to find the right words. If only my bad foot wasn't on the side that was on the ground. I had, of course, put my brace on after taking a shower, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get down the stairs, or walk at all, but… I'd have to balance on the space where my toes should have been, and the brace was so hard to walk in anyway, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep myself upright if I only applied pressure to that area. I had to think of another solution, so I quickly placed my hands on either side of his face and tried to push myself up. Of course, I kept my eyes on Sasuke the whole time, and didn't pay attention to myself.

Big mistake.

Sasuke's eyes, if possible widened even further and his face seemed to transform from its usual pale complexion to a deep, deep crimson.

I glanced down, in a moment's curiosity, and then, let out a small yelp as I remembered that the towel had slipped down. I lifted my arms and I dropped back down. My face was also now a dark red. Where are those ANBU when I need them??!?!

"I…" I said, "I _swear_ to God this isn't what it looks like!" _Right,_ I thought sarcastically, like that's going to change the fact that I'm laying on him, literally half naked and I just flashed him.

Sasuke didn't say anything; he just stared at me with that same expression frozen onto his face.

"Sasuke?" I asked. God… what if he thinks I'm… "Sasuke, I don't care what this looks like—I. Am. Not. A. Pedophile. Ok? No sexual interest!"

"I…" Sasuke said, "Why… are you…"

"I just… was trying to get my clothes and I tripped," I said, "Then you made me trip more and the towel is caught and it made it slip down—and this is just really a bad situation!" I must really have bad karma. "Look… maybe if you close your eyes, and then I can get up without worrying about you seeing my breasts again."

His faced flushed as the mental image of my breasts ran through him again… god, the poor kid! He doesn't deserve this… he's probably horrified, or… disgusted… or… well, whatever it is, I'm sure he's not enjoying himself. He nodded and squeezed his eyes shut.

I tried to push myself up again and found that the towel was still firmly tucked under him. I was only able to push my upper body up… "Sasuke," I said, "You're on my towel."

"Eh…" he said. He opened one eye to see what the matter was and he blushed again, closing them. There was a moment in which I could have _sworn_ his eyes flashed opened one last time again but then he closed them.

This was awkward. I mean, the situation in general was awkward, because normally it would have been: they fell, they were embarrassed, they got up… except for us, the getting up part was impossible because _he_ couldn't get up because I was on top of him, and _I_ couldn't get up because he was on a good portion of my towel and my left leg is literally incapable of supporting any weight… We were literally stuck.

I put my hand on the towel and yanked. But what I didn't realize was that in order to do that, one had to hold onto the other side. So, my right hand was on his side. And, I yanked too hard. I yelped again as I flipped off and landed on my back. I nearly yelled in frustration. Sasuke had, because of the amount of force I had yanked the towel from him, had rolled off with me.

He was just staring at me with that same strange expression. It made me uncomfortable, because I had never seen that kind of expression on Sasuke's face. He was breathing really heavily, probably because he was still tired. There was another moment, then he, in a rush, jumped off of me, then said, "I… have to go for a walk." And, without looking at me, he disappeared out the door.

I sat up, then grabbed my towel and lifted it up to cover my breasts. I've… _never_ been so humiliated in my life. I can't believe… I mean, Naruto and Jiraiya have seen me in my bra… but… this is different. Sasuke saw me _without_ my bra _and_… I was on top of him… I put a hand on my forehead, "What am I going to do?" I felt horrible, like a sick pervert. I mean, it was a total accident, and it was totally innocent. I didn't mean anything by it, I just tripped, and he was also to blame… I really don't have any kind of feeling for Sasuke, and even if I did I would totally suppress them, I mean, he's like… What, two year younger than me? I mean, I know that's not that much, but he's _fourteen_ and I'm _sixteen_. Besides, he's like a little brother to me, and I _know_ he doesn't have feelings for me, or I'd have noticed by now…

So why am I…

Why am I feeling like this?

Why do I have butterflies in my stomach?

I had déjà vu again, and I felt like it had something to do with that dream I kept having, or remembering, although, when I try to think of it, I can't remember that much. Every time I remember (and then forget) a little bit comes back to me. Now, all I remember up to is being on a swing of some sort, but nothing more than that… I wonder… when I remember it all, will I know why I'm feeling like this? It felt like it would never happen.

I stood up, angrily grabbed my bag of clothes and walked up stairs.

Once dressed (which is a hell of a lot harder when you're left leg no longer has any balance, although the brace helps a little, but you can't wear it when you're getting dressed or it'll get caught up in the pant legs…) and then I had a little self-pitying moment as I stared at my mutated foot (I tell you, It's _really_ ugly… and purple and bruised—basically, _don't_ look at it right before or after eating) and speaking of black and blue, you should take a look at my entire body. I swear, I don't think some of the bruises will ever heal. They've faded a lot, thanks to the medicine and ointments that the hospital nurses and doctors applied… but they're still pretty visible. And the scars… have them all over to. The doctors told me I had over… one hundred stitches in all. That's a _lot_ of stitches.

And very painful. I couldn't wait till they could be taken out. They itched, but if I itch they bleed… and that was even more painful… hopefully when we meet up with Tsunade, she'll be able to permanently get rid of everything…

Tsunade… the thought of the woman brought back the fact that I was going to eventually tell Sasuke I wouldn't be able to keep his promise.

I shuddered involuntarily at the thought of that. I didn't even want to _think_ about what Sasuke's reaction would be. I knew he was going to be angry. _Really_ angry. He probably won't speak to me for a while. My heart skipped a beat at this, and it surprised me. Why was… I mean, he's my friend, so I don't want him to be angry with me, but him not speaking to me or being really angry almost frightened me, but not in the same way if it were Sakura or Naruto…

I pouted my lips and decided not to think about any of this business. I limped down the stairs and into the kitchen. I glanced at the clock. It was… I squinted. Around… If only there was a digital clock. Digital clocks here have the right numbers (as in, numbers I can understand) but this was a Japanese clock. It had the same format as any other clock with numbers, but it had different characters, so telling the time took a little more thought. It was around five. Wow, I took a longer shower than I thought…

Maybe I should cook something. I looked at the spotless kitchen. I knew I would end up making a mess and wouldn't have time to clean it up before Sasuke came back… and Sasuke was so… OCD about keeping things clean… but I was really hungry… but I didn't want him to cook for me, because although he was a good cook… I… he was probably angry at me for 'assaulting' him—ALTHOUGH I SWEAR IT WAS UNITENTIONAL!—so he'll probably not want to make me dinner or anything…

But I was really hungry! The meds (normal and pain) I was on made me really hungry, and I had to keep eating in order for them not to destroy my internal organs. Funny, how I'm taking meds to save my vitals, and yet they could potentially destroy them. Ah, the irony. Actually, irony would be if I died because I took the pills.

I glanced in the cupboard to see if there was something I could just grab without actually making something. Aha! Fruit! Of course, it wasn't in the cupboard, but on the counter, so I grabbed something—I don't know what it was, but it tasted good—and noticed, for the first time, sliding doors.

Oh yeah, I remember seeing in the manga that there was some kind of courtyard or something connected to the kitchen. I opened the door and peered out. I smiled and opened it fully. From this perspective, the house looked like a traditional Japanese house. I blinked in surprise at the massiveness of Sasuke's house. I stretched in a square around the courtyard, which was large. This part I was in at the moment must have been a modern addition. The other parts of the house, from what I could see, looked like they could have existed a thousand years ago. That's probably where all those scenes in the manga in which the room looked really old fashioned. This, I glanced at the kitchen, and beyond it, the living room, to the side the dining room, and upstairs the bedroom, this must have been built when modern facilities made life way easier, but they didn't want to upgrade the older house and ruin it… I looked at it again. It'd probably be all empty, anyway. I doubted that Sasuke used it at all. Ha, I thought, this must be the guest bedrooms Sasuke had mentioned. There were some in this smaller (but still big) modern part of the house, but his grandparents or other relatives probably lived in them, so that's probably why even those aren't entered into. And I highly doubt he likes going into this part of the house because… it probably reminds him of his clan…

I stepped out onto the porch that wrapped around the house and the courtyard. It was big, very big, and it had to railings. It was so peaceful. If my foot didn't hurt after walking on it too much, I'd probably just spend hours walking round and round, peeking into the rooms. I sat down, my foot'n'brace resting on the ground.

The sun was beginning to set…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I started when I felt something shake my shoulder. "Grace…" I heard a soft voice say, "Grace… you need to wake up, it's time for dinner."

I opened my eyes and looked into Sasuke's onyx ones. "Sasuke…" I said, I sat up quickly and glanced around. It was dark. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Just about an hour," he said, "It's summer, so you wouldn't have caught a cold, besides, you'd stay warm because the generator is right under you." He glanced back at the kitchen, "I've made dinner, if you want some."

"Yes!" I said, eagerly. "Oh, I have to get my meds…"

I tried to get up, but I wasn't able to, and for almost a minute I just sat there waving my arms. Sasuke suppressed a chuckle. "Help me." I ordered.

"As you wish," he said, grabbing my hand and hoisting me to my feet.

_As you wish_… that was… from a movie I saw once, although Sasuke obviously wouldn't have seen it… _The Princess Bride._ It's what Wesley would say to the princess. I wondered if there was something significant about that… I mean, there was something romantic about the way he just said it—holy shit. He sees me naked and I'm already thinking of wedding bells. Nah, just kidding, but still, I can't believe I just put 'romantic' and Sasuke in the same sentence. Jeez… what's coming over me? Although… I thought, Sasuke _is_ rather a romantic fellow. I couldn't wait till he was older. I bet his fanclub will be HUGE then. I giggled at the thought. Poor Sasuke… he's going to have an awfully hard time finding a girl because of all those obsessive people.

I followed him inside, sniffing the air. "Not fair," I said, "Why are you such a good cook?"

"Practice," he shrugged, "You're not bad."

"I suppose," I said, sitting down at the table in the kitchen, which was the only one we used. I've never been inside the dining room, "But I don't really ever cook—my mom would cook for me—and the Hokage has—had a cook."

Sasuke hesitated a moment, then sat down. "Tell me…" he said, cautiously, "About your family."

"My family?" I asked, "Hm… you mean, from where I came from?"

"Yes."

"Well," I thought about the best way to go about it, "I have a mom and dad, obviously, and I have… I'm the youngest, and I have a lot of older brothers and sisters, who everyone compares me too, and it's really annoying because I'm never as good as them because I can't possibly live up to _all_ them—but they're all really nice to me—although they tease me a lot—and I have a niece and nephew… but they're really little and probably don't even know I'm gone."

"Do you miss them?"

I looked up from my food and stared into his eyes for a long time. "Yes." I said, finally. "Yes, of course I do. But there's nothing I can do about it. Probably…" I stopped. I didn't want to think that this might all be in my head, or a dream, or that I could possibly be dead. "But," I said, optimistically, "I have a family and friends here, too! I have Konohamaru… Naruto… Sakura… Ryuichi… Jiraiya… Anko, I suppose… Kakashi… Tenten… Bingly… Kiba… Neji… Lee… Hinata… Neji—wait, I already said him… Wait, he's not my friend! Or maybe… ok, now I'm confused." I shook my head, "But the most important one is you, Sasuke!"

His hand froze midway to his mouth, "Me?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course!" I said, "You're my family too! You, Konohamaru and Naruto are like the little brothers I never had."

"Oh." Sasuke put his fork in mouth. He seemed disappointed.

"You don't want to be my brother?" I asked, despondent.

"Eh, that's not it," he said, "I just… never mind."

There was silence.

"Sasuke," I said, "You know… You never told me what your ideal girl is."

Sasuke blinked and just stared at me. "Yes I did." He said.

"No you didn't." I retorted.

"I did," he sniffed, "You just have a bad memory and observational skills."

I frowned disapprovingly at him, because I couldn't argue with that. Maybe he did tell me, but I seriously can't remember. "Ok," I said, "Then will you tell me again?"

He sighed, "What do you want to know."

"What does your dream girl look like?" I asked, excited.

"Eh…" he said, "I… don't really have a..."

"You _have_ to," I said, "Everyone does, no matter how nice and kind they are!"

He sighed. "I don't…" he seemed to be getting really awkward.

Inwardly, I chuckled. Who knew Sasuke would be so shy about this?

"I…" he continued, "Eh…"

"Ok, _fine_," I said, "you don't have to tell me, then personality traits?"

There was silence.

"God," I sighed, "I spill my guts to you and you don't even have the decency to tell me your dream girl."

"Why do you want to know so badly?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"So I can hook you up with someone!" I winked, "I think, in a few years, it'd be cute if you had a girlfriend, so I'm making it my obligation to find you a girl—one that likes kids," I added.

He just stared at me silently, and, sadly.

"You don't have to give me that look," I said. "You said you want to rebuild the Uchiha Clan, right? So, obviously a key characteristic of a girl for you would be a liking of children! What if you two got married? She'd have to be willing to have a lot of kids!" I grinned, "And if she didn't like a lot of kids… then I'll adopt them—all! God, just thinking about a million mini Sasukes running around—god lord, that's a scary thought… ok," I reassured myself, "that's anatomically impossible—unless you turn into a pimp—_don't_ turn into a pimp, you've got looks, so I'd be easy for you but _please_ don't turn into a womanizer—I would kill you, I swear. Anyway, just thinking about your little kids running around makes me so happy—they'll have to call me 'Auntie Grace', and I'll help your wife with them because I personally love kids—Sasuke!" I said, pointing at him, "You've _got_ to call one of your kids Ayame—I _love_ the name Ayame, so you've got to call one that. Wait, _I_ should name my kid Ayame, yeah, I didn't think of that… Aw… but Ayame Uchiha sounds a lot better than Ayame Sarutobi…wouldn't it be awesome if there was a way for _my_ kid to have the last name Uchiha…" I tried to think of a way for that to happen… I mean, I could always change my name to Uchiha, and I could marry Sasuke—but that's just a little extreme just so my kids can have Uchiha as their last name, and it's _way_ out of the question. Got that's freaky, I can't believe I just considered marrying Sasuke. What a weird thought! I've never thought about that before! I've never, and never will, probably, consider Sasuke as a… _possibility._ I didn't even have a kid, so why am I worrying about this? I looked up at Sasuke to see him giving me that same 'do you have a brain' expression. "What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?"

"You're…" he said, "I just… I just don't think you realize what you're…_implying_…"

I didn't say anything, then I said, "You… you didn't get the wrong idea… about earlier?"

He looked puzzled for a moment. Then his face turned pink then he shook his head, "No, no—it was an accident—I understand."

"You're lying," I said, "You're blushing."

"I'm not!" he said, defensively, "I'm just… did you take your meds?"

"You're changing the subject—oh! My pills!"

Sasuke sighed as I left the table to rummage through my bag for the bottle of pills the doctor gave me. "Got 'em!" I said. I limped back to the table and sat down. "How many did the nurse tell me to take…" I wondered out loud.

"You forgot!?" Sasuke nearly yelled, then he calmed down and advised, "Look at the label."

"Oh," I said, "I forgot about that…" I peered at the label. "Take three tablets with food…" I read. "Ok, I opened the lid and dumped three out, then closed the lid. As soon as I placed it on the table Sasuke reached over and grabbed it. Then he stood up and walked to a cabinet, opened it, and placed it among other bottle of medicine. "Wait—what—what are you doing?" I asked, looking at him in bewilderment.

"Keeping it safe," he said, "You'll lose it otherwise.""

"_So_ not true," I said, but it was. Damn, why the hell is Sasuke, the younger one, the more mature one? Isn't the girl supposed to be more mature? I'm also two and a half years older than him. I SHOULD be more mature… or more responsible at least.

I swallowed the pills, with water, then sighed. "I think I'm going to go straight to bed." I said. There was a lot on my mind and I wanted to rest.

"Really?" he said, "It's only seven."

"These pills make me sleepy," I lied.

"You just too them, the side effects can't possibly be that fast." He pointed out.

"Well, _I'm_ tired," I snapped, "I just got out of the hospital and I've had some pretty nasty treatments done on me and my joyride before _that_ isn't something to be fondly remembered."

I immediately regretted it. I knew, from the look on his face, that I hit a very, very, very sensitive area.

Sakura's words drifted back at me, how Sasuke blamed himself for what Gaara did to me. "I… I didn't mean that," I said, "Sasuke, I…"

He stood up abruptly, so that the chair skidded back and nearly toppled over, then walked past me without looking at me and walked out of the door to the courtyard. The sliding door shook from the force in which he closed it. I flinched.

Now he'll be even _angrier_ when I tell him about the mission.

I was really starting to regret staying here.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

TO BE CONTINUED

I think Grace's problem is she just doesn't realize that what she says, if said to the wrong person, has a totally different meaning… Poor Sasuke… and poor Grace. I know, this chapter was pretty fluffy, but I couldn't help it. There will be at least one more chapter that will be soly in Sasuke's house, not the mission. Maybe two more.

Tell me if you like this stuff (Grace staying at Sasuke's house) and I'll make sure to make the others just as sweet and fluffy as this one…

If I don't drive myself crazy.

This chapter was hard to write, because I wanted 'fluff' for lack of a better word to happen between Sasuke and Grace but I didn't want to be inappropriate (I think I failed)

Well, the next chapter should be posted within a week

fUnKyToEs

(Please leave a review and tell me what you think! ~.^)


	38. The Fifth Hokage: Part IV

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part IV

WORDS: 4, 185 words

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, the show or the character.

BEFOREWORD: Hi! Sorry I was so late with this chapter! I had a very stressful week at school and then I went for a week up to Vermont to snowboard, so I had little to no time to prepare this chapter, but I will say it was the first thing I did when I returned home. I'm working on the next chapter, so don't worry! I believe that there will only be one more chapter like this one, and then the plot will continue.

Enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I sat on the bed. There was a problem. I tried to reach my arm behind my back, but I was just not flexible enough. _Damn._ I'm going to have to ask Sasuke… is he still here? I glanced at the door. It's been an hour since he stormed out, and I used that time to change and start to dress my wounds (aka, my stitches…. I stared hard, and picked out 'infection', 'heal', and 'wound'. There was a word that I guessed was 'stitches', but I don't have a clue, really. It was weird. Slowly, I've been able to pick words out of Japanese sentences. I suppose that theory that you learn better in the foreign environment itself is true. However, don't expect me to write—I'd fail) I supposed this ointment was some sort of anti-infection thing, but I thought you had to dry out stitches? I suppose anything to get them to stop itching…. The nurse told me earlier that I should do them at night or morning, but not in the same day… because then the stitches wouldn't have time to dry, or something like that. To tell you the truth I was so happy to leave the hospital that I wasn't really paying any attention to what the lady had been telling me.

But back to my dilemma. I couldn't reach the stitches between my shoulder blades. I mean, I can touch them, but I can't put ointment on them and then put the bandages back on without… tearing… and/or destroying my back. Great…. I stood up and slipped on a large white shirt. I was wearing blue pajama pants with green frogs on them… hey, it was a gift from Naruto. I probably shouldn't mention that to Sasuke… It didn't take long to figure out that Naruto was a touchy subject for Sasuke… Although, I sighed, I already knew it would happen. In the manga it was around here that Sasuke began to hate Naruto, or was jealous of him… it was that that forced him to leave, I think… or it jumpstarted it. I sighed, I had really hoped that we could skip that little detour. Hopefully there's still time. I… I think it would kill me if Sasuke left. Well, it would kill him too because I'd chase him down, kill him, bring him back to life and return him to the village. Just kidding, but seriously, I wouldn't forgive him if he left, because of how much grief it causes everyone around him.

I walked with a slight (sarcasm, people) limp out the door and down the stairs. "Sasuke?" I asked, poking my head into the living room.

I saw Sasuke, laying on his back, reading a book. Aw… he looks so cute just laying there….I couldn't see what he was reading. I wonder if it was some kind of emo poetry… nah. Bust still, that would be funny. It was weird, I always thought that Sasuke was emo, I mean, in the manga he seemed that way, but he was more just introverted and silent than emo… He looked up, and his cheeks turned a slight pink color and then he had that calm look on his face and was normal again. I assumed the fact he was embarrassed was he was remembering the events earlier today… that or it was the fact I'm getting ready for bed and wasn't wearing my bra… probably a mixture of both. Oh, gosh, what am I thinking? Why the hell am I thinking about this? Geez, I feel like every time I see Sasuke I'm either half naked or not wearing my bra…. _Every _time, I _swear._

"Hey," I said, "Can you help me with something?" I held the ointment in my right hand, switching to my left.

A small flicker of concern flashed in his eyes before he calculated that whatever it was it couldn't be dire. "What is it?" He asked, trying to smile. I wonder if he was upset about something? Then again he _is_ the emo character… wait a second, I thought I just said he wasn't emo? God, I'm so confused…

"Ok, so, you know how I have stitches?" I started.

He laid his book down on his chest and raised his eyebrows at me.

"Ok," I said, bashfully, "It's pretty obvious, I know. Anyway, I need to put this ointment on some on my back… and I can't reach it… so… I was wondering…" I motioned with my hands, waving the ointment to draw his attention to it.

"You want me to help you?" he asked, simply.

I nodded. "If you don't mind."

He sighed, "It's important, I don't mind."

"There'd better not be a perverted reason behind that." I said, dryly.

His face slowly turned a dark red. You know, this is quite amusing. I walked over to him and sat down and lifted the back of my shirt. I think _I'm_ blushing now. I handed him the ointment. He took some and squeezed a little on his finger and then gently, and very hesitantly, he applied it to the stitches. I shivered under his touch. For some reason… I actually _liked_… holy cow… I cannot believe I just thought that I was enjoying this… that's… unless…I felt my stomach drop.

"Thank you for doing this," I said, hesitantly.

He didn't respond, and then he said, "No problem," in a muffled voice. When he was done (which was, to my surprise, much too soon if you ask me) and had put the bandages back on I dropped my shirt so it fell down over my back and stood up carefully.

"I'll have to come up later to get some things," he said.

"That's fine." I said, "I'm going to sleep, but don't mind coming up."

He nodded. Then his eyes drifted down to my pants. "Those look like something Naruto would wear."

I noticed that there was some contempt in his voice. "They were a gift." I said, "From Naruto." I was worried. I didn't want this subject to come up. I was worried about this. I was sort of hoping to avoid anything that involved Naruto, Jiraiya, missions and Tsunade. Basically anything that might bring up the fact that I'm going on a dangerous mission soon… because I didn't want to think about what would happen if Sasuke found out about that… it won't be a pretty sight, that's for sure. What I hope happens is that I can successfully avoid the subject for… well, till the last possible moment. Then I'll tell him, convince him to let me go, and not to follow me. That's what I'm worried about. If… I didn't want Sasuke to go.

"I see…" Sasuke said, his face and voice emotionless.

There was something alien… no, not alien. Something I'm not sure I've ever really seen in him in person. It was _jealously. _But why would he be jealous? Was it because Naruto was more of a little brother to me than he was? But… I mean… I didn't realize Sasuke wanted to be my brother so badly… I turned to him, a grin on my face, "Sasuke… how would you like to…" I trailed off. "What is it?" I asked, wondering why he was giving me such a strange and intense look.

He didn't say anything, but then he shook his head, and said, "It's nothing. You should go to bed."

"Alright, _mother._" I said, mockingly annoyed. "Right," I said, my voice back to normal, "I'm going up, if you need anything from your room come on up." I stood up, shakily, and, due to a lack of balance, nearly fell back onto the couch. I would have if Sasuke didn't apply his ninja reflexes and catch me. I flushed. His hands were on my hips, keeping me up. "Thanks," I mumbled.

"No problem," he said, but his face was red so I knew he was embarrassed about it.

"I'm going up now," I repeated.

He nodded.

"So…uh…" I said, "If you could let go now, that would be great…"

His face turned a dark red and he let go of my hips as if they burned his hands. I smiled, said goodnight, and went upstairs. Well that was… interesting. I mean… It's weird but a little part of me actually _liked_ having his hands—I slapped my face to wake myself up from that little fantasy. What was I thinking? It was like I was admitting to liking Sasuke, or that he turned me on. I shuddered at that thought. It was probably because of the incident earlier… I shuddered at that thought too.

I brushed my teeth and then crawled into the bed. It was big, and although it was comfortable, it felt lonely.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke placed his book on the counter and hopped down from the stool. He stretched and then walked up the stairs. When he reached his bedroom door he hesitated. Should he? He felt like he was intruding on her privacy if he went in. He decided to go for it. She probably wouldn't wake up anyway. He pushed the door open and stepped quietly in. He walked in complete silence, not making a sound, an important trait for a ninja, and walked to the dresser, removing the things he needed. He placed those on the top of the dresser then walked to the bathroom and brushed his teeth. He walked out and gazed quietly at the sleeping girl on his bed. She was so cute when she slept. He almost chuckled at the sight of her. For all the size of the bed, she was hanging half off, her mouth open in a small circle, a cute little content expression on her face. He walked over to his dresser, resisting the urge to embrace her and hold her, and picked up his clothes. He turned around and walked towards the door. When he was nearly there, one hand reaching for the door knob, he heard something.

"Sasuke…" came a small mumbled whisper.

He turned around to see Grace, her eyes still closed, on the bed. He wasn't sure if she was asleep, or too tired to open her eyes. He decided against saying something. He didn't want to wake her if she was really asleep. He walked over to her hesitantly. What would she want at this hour of the night?

Her eyes were still closed. From this distance, he could tell from the rhythm of her breathing that she was still asleep. She, in her sleep, reached out and touched his stomach with her fingertips. He felt as if he was being electrocuted with energy. Her pulse confirmed that she was sleeping. But it wasn't her touch that caught him off guard. It was what she murmured in her sleep.

"I…" she said, between her even breaths, "I… love…you"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoooOo

I woke up with a start. I touched my cheek, and to my surprise I found that there were tears on it. _That's odd._ I must have had a sad dream. I sat there, trying to remember what it was. It was that same dream that kept recurring. To tell you the truth it was really pissing me off. Not just that I kept re-dreaming it every week or so, but also, I never remember more than half of it, so I always wake up in a stitch because it's like an endless cliffhanger.

Not to mention I have this weird feeling that it's an important dream.

Foreboding.

Whatever is at the end of the dream, I know it's not good. I have this sinking feeling that when I finally remember it… it'll be…

I looked around. The sun was shining through the large glass doors that opened up onto the balcony. I smiled, the house was so pretty. It wasn't as big as the Hokage's mansion, although when you count the older half it's actually probably just as big or bigger. But it was very nice, one of those houses that you could find in a magazine sporting the best furniture and wood work. Although, I thought cynically, that could be just because Sasuke is such a germophobic.

Sasuke…

The thought of him caused me to look around again. This was Sasuke's room… I've in here countless times (well, actually not that often) but I never actually took the time to really look around, except for that first time when I tried to play a prank on him (trust me, _that's_ never gonna' happen again). His bed was really comfortable. It was bigger and more comfortable than my room, or former room, at the Hokage's mansion. I fell asleep once before, but… I woke up the next day in my bed so I assume that either Sasuke or Ryuichi brought me back to my house.

The thought of Ryuichi brought me back to the depressed state I was in when I first woke up. I have to say, I missed him. I'm not sure why, but I've become very attached to him. I guess it's because he's like the older brother my own failed to be. I sighed. I wonder who my new guards are. It sucks, because they seem to be more of the type that actually take their job seriously. I'll probably never know who they are or see them in my life.

Now _that's_ a disturbing thought.

Ok, I should probably get up now, after all… I glanced at the alarm clock. 8:00. Wow, I slept a long time. I threw the heavy dark covers off of me and stepped onto the floor. I flinched as my foot twitched. I've gotten somewhat used to not having toes on one of my feet, so it's become a shock when I forgot and try to walk without my brace. It's satisfying though, knowing that I might eventually be able to walk without the brace easily, but for now? I sat back down on the bed and leaned over the bed, trying to reach for brace, which was at the bottom of the bed. I managed to grab it and dragged it over to me. I put on, tightening the straps and then a stood up and stretched.

I walked over to the door and pulled it open. Immediately I smelled something good. I have no idea what it was, I haven't gotten used to the different types of food here, I mean, I've gotten used to it enough that it doesn't turn me off anymore, but still, I can't recognize food by smell yet, besides ramen and other common things like rice and such.

When I first came here, it was hard because I'm a relatively picky eater, so the colorful and alien taste of Japanese food was very hard to get used to. I almost just ate ramen at first because it was the only thing that I could really get down without making a face, and even that, real ramen is entirely different than the little packages you buy at a store. It's much more spicy and flavorful. My taste buds couldn't handle most of the food.

But now, I can eat most anything, besides sea food, sushi and anything raw, besides vegetables. Also strange things, like things meant to be pets. And eggs that were marinated and boiled in vinegar are impossible to get down, period. So… basically my menu here is very limited.

But whatever it was that Sasuke made, it smelled wonderful. Damn him, why the hell is he such a good cook? I mean, I'm not bad, but I can't make anything Japanese. But Sasuke? Sasuke is _really_ good, and I'm jealous of that. Although… I'm not sure why… I mean, I should be happy that I can use that as an excuse for Sasuke to make food for me, but for some reason I have it in my head that _I_ have to be the one to make food for _him,_ which is odd because I'm not that way with anyone else…

It's like our roles are reversed.

Wait, did I just say roles?

We're not married yet…

I quickly turned on my way down the stairs and hit my head against the wall, causing some of the pictures to shake. I can't believe I just said 'yet'.

My head is really messed up right now.

I finished the stairs, without falling down. For some reason, stairs don't like me that much, especially these stairs.

I glanced into the kitchen to see some things on the stove and food in the process of being made, but Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. I tiptoed to the entrance of the living room and peered in. Sasuke was on the floor near the door to the outside, on his back, shirtless, probably still in his sleeping clothes, doing sit-ups.

Holy cow, he must work out a lot.

I've never seen a little kid with abs like those. Actually… Sasuke's not really a little kid. In my world he'd be in his last year of junior high or freshmen in high school.

He must have sensed my presence because he paused while in the upward position and looked at me. "Oh." He said, "You're up." There was a slight blush as he looked at me. I wonder if there was something on me, of if my bra was visible… wait… I'm not wearing a bra… I wonder if that's the problem… you see? _Every time._

"Sasuke," I asked, my head still the only part visible, "Do you work out a lot?"

His face flushed, "I—why?"

"Well," I said, "You have a really sexy body! I'm jealous—your future girlfriend or wife is going to enjoy watching you work out."

He blinked at me, "Watch me… work out?"

"Yeah," I said, "Just stand here and watch you work out."

"Like…" he said, an annoyed and impatient expression on his face, as if talking to a little kid, "Like you are right now?"

"Eh…" I glanced down at the ground, behind me, and then back at him, "I guess, yeah."

He sighed. "You're an idiot, you realize that, right?"

"Why's that?" I asked, irritated at him for the unrealistic accusation. I mean, seriously!

"You're ignorant," he said, "No, you just don't realize what you're saying… Promise me you'll never talk to strangers, least of all strange men."

"Why?"

He looked away, sighing with exasperation, "Ten times out of ten they'll misunderstand you and I can't always be around to save you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. Ok, now he's got it all wrong! I happen to be excellent at realizing people's intentions! I'm also good at realizing people's emotions and true feelings… I nodded to myself, agreeing with my wisdom.

He quickly dropped his pose and landed on his back, placing his hands over his eyes and groaned.

I sighed and walked back into the kitchen. I wanted to see what it was that he was making. I lifted the lid of a pot and sniffed. It smelled…. Like tomatoes… I looked down, it was some kind of tomato paste. Whatever it was, it smelled good.

Sasuke walked past me, "But that lid back on." He ordered without even looking at me.

I put it back on bashfully.

"Jeez," he muttered, returning to cutting up some kind of plant, I think a leek, "I can't even leave you alone for five seconds."

I rolled my eyes, "I was just taking a peek, you don't have to spazz about it."

"Well if I know you, and I'm pretty sure I do," he gave me a pointed look to emphasize his point, "Then you'll decide to _taste_ it to make sure it's good, and then, because it is on high, and therefore _very_ hot, not to mention spicy, _you'll_ be the one freaking out because you burned your tongue. And then when I come in here you're going to try to hide the fact that you just made a big mistake and cover it up by taking an even bigger bite to show that you're not defeated by heat that easily, and then you'll be causing yourself even more damage."

I stared at him. I gritted my teeth, "Well, smartass, that's not what I would do, and I'm not stupid enough to try to cover up a mistake like that by making the same mistake over again, besides, I'm actually very resilient to heat and spiciness, and to prove it to you," I took the spoon, scooped some up and popped it into my mouth.

I shrieked through my lips and clapped a hand to my mouth, tears rushing down my face. I waved at the air in front of my mouth as I tried to cool my mouth down.

Sasuke sighed. "I rest my case."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I knew something was up when we sat down. There was so much tension… no not tension, heaviness, in the air. Sasuke was staring at me the whole time, as if he was expecting me to say something. I stared at the meal. Sasuke really outdid himself. There was no way either of us could eat so much food… "Eh…" I said, trying to jump start the nonexistent conversation, "Nice… meal? Thank you!"

He blinked, "You're welcome…" he trailed off, and glanced at his plate. He hadn't eaten yet, and I felt odd starting without him. Why wouldn't he just eat for crying out loud? It's not that hard chicken butt head! Just pick up the spoon, scoop up some of that curry from hell and pop it into your mouth!!! "Grace…" he began, awkwardly.

"Yeah?" I asked. What now? Is he going to ask me to pray or something? That's another thing that's strange here, I mean, people here say 'thank you for the meal' or 'dig in' or something along those lines, but they never say _whom_ they are thanking, because it's in a much broader formality than just to the person who made it. Is it to Buddha? I mean, that would make sense, I've seen temples that resembled those of Buddhism, and Buddhism is a characteristically Asian religion… but they also seemed to worship, or more pay extreme respect and almost worship the soul of those who have passed away and lived before them…

I'll have to investigate on the religions of this world. Religions always fascinated me, and I wonder if there's a new kind here in this world…

"Grace," Sasuke said, his voice a little sharper to get my attention.

"Huh—oh, sorry," I said, turning my attention back on him. "What do you want?"

He suddenly became bashful again, which was something rare and rather cute to see in him. "Do you… you know…"

"Unless you elaborate more, no," I said, picking up a spoon and picking at something, deeming it edible and popping it into my mouth. I smiled and closed my eyes, savoring the taste. "This is sooooo good!"

"Grace," Sasuke repeated for the third time, "Do you… remember any dream last night?"

There was silence. How would Sasuke know… about that dream? Unless this was just a random question. "Yeah," I said, "I had a really weird dream last night, why?"

He blushed slightly, "I—do you remember… any of it?"

I paused, "No… not really," I said, "I remember some of it, I mean, I remember… a little more than half of it, but not the end of the dream. I've had that dream for a really long time, but when I wake up I never remember the ending."

He looked slightly upset, or disappointed. "Oh," he said. "That makes sense." He looked down at his food, slightly forlorn.

"Why?" I asked.

He shook his head and began to eat, "No reason. Just wondering."

"You know," I said, "You're in the dream."

He looked up, hope in his dark eyes.

"Yeah," I continued, "You're in the dream, but I don't really remember more than that." I paused. "I don't' even remember what the dream was about. I pouted, "That kind of sucks. Now I _really_ want to know what happens. It's like reading a mystery novel in which the last chapter is ripped out…" I sighed.

He smiled, "I'm sure you'll remember one day," he said, his voice unusually light.

"Naruto was also in the dream," I realized.

His spoon froze between his mouth and the plate. His eyes widened a little, but not in surprise. He was staring at one of the plates, frozen. He almost looked comical as he calculated what I said, although I had no idea what was going through his mind. The spoon dropped from his hand and clanged on the plate.

"…Naruto was in the dream?" he asked, slowly, his eyes meeting mine.

"Yeah," I said, "I think… yeah, he was _definitely_ in it. Without a doubt." I nodded, "Yeah, Naruto was _definitely_ in the dream."

Sasuke's hand curled into a fist.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_To be continued…_

Well, sorry this chapter was shorter than previous ones have been, but I tried to get it done faster so that it be updated as soon as possible… anyway, major plot twist! Well, not that major, but for Sasuke it is!

Stay tuned for next week to see what Sasuke's reaction is!

Please leave a comment and tell me what you think! The more comments I get the more motivated I am to write faster.

fUnKyToEs


	39. The Fifth Hokage: Part V

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part V

WORDS: 3, 500 words

DISCLAIMER: I don't own _Naruto_

BEFOREWORD: Well, I'd like to apologize for the lateness (nearly a month) but I had an extremely stressful and busy month, but now things have calmed down and I'm already on the next chapter: I'll try to make up for the past month by posting it tomorrow. Um… This chapter is… really random… and… really… full of fluff… like… so much it that when I reread it, it made me sick… well, not really, but…

One word:

FLUFF

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I let my spoon slip out of my hand and didn't even hear it clang on the plate. Grace peered at me with a curious expression. She obviously didn't realize what she had just said, or the importance of what she had said. I just stared at her.

Naruto was in her dream? Could it have been… those words that had been the most welcoming words he had ever heard… could they have been directed at that…

"…Naruto was in your dream?" I asked, slowly, trying my hardest to suppress my anger.

She blinked, "Yeah," she said, "I think… Yeah, he was _definitely_ in it. Without a doubt," she said, a sly smile on her lips, "Yeah, Naruto was _definitely_ in the dream."

I felt that, with that simple sentence from her, she just crushed whatever hope I had.

Wait, I thought, She said 'Sasuke' before the 'I love you'. That means… that means nothing. There was at least a minute interval between the two, and you can dream an entire dream in a minute… which means… my hand curled into a fist. If both of us were in the dream it's possible that she murmured his name and then said…

The way she confirmed that Naruto was in the dream…

It pissed me off thinking that she could be taking about Naruto with that affectionate… the way she…

"Sasuke!?" Grace asked, a worried expression on her face. "Sasuke, did I say something?"

_No,_ I thought sarcastically. I stood up, "I need a walk." I didn't want to be here.

She pushed back her chair and stood up half running half limping over to me, "Wait!" she called, "Sasuke!" she grabbed me by the sleeve, pulling me back a few inches towards her. "Sasuke, don't run out on me again!"

I was about to pull myself from her grasp. She wasn't holding on very tightly, and even if she were she's so weak that it would take nothing to remove her hand from my arm. But there… was something about the way she pleaded, begged me to stay. The way here eyes suddenly became misty, as if fighting off tears. It startled me, because I'd never really seen Grace so… unprotected wasn't the right word. Distraught. She was always such a cheerful air-head.

"Wha… what is it?" I asked, regret obvious in my voice, "What's the matter?"

"Don't…" she bit her lip and glanced down at the floor and let me go.

I felt like something was ripping my heart. Seeing her so upset… and somehow being responsible for it… it was truly more than I could bear. Her hand instinctively reached up to fidget with some of her short thick locks. She always did that, whether she realized it or not, whenever she was worried about something. I… I brushed away the desire to be the one with his hands in her hair, and said, "Grace, is something the matter?" I nearly forgot the anger that was rushing through my veins moments ago.

She didn't answer. She seemed lost in thought, as if contemplating some deep complicated theory on the meaning of life. I reached up and gently touched her cheek, trying to comfort her for whatever it was she was suffering from. Why does she always do this? How can she expect me to know what is wrong? Why doesn't she ever tell me what she's thinking?

She flinched, ever so slightly at the touch of my hand. "Your hand is cold." She said, quietly, then walked past me without looking at me and walked upstairs.

I watched her go, remorsefully, then turned around and walked out the back door.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I sat on my bed. No, not my bed. _Sasuke's _bed. Why was I so upset? Sasuke… he… He's always leaving, and I've realized that… there's no point is there?

I suppose it's nice to think that Naruto is right, that one can shape one's own destiny… but what if Neji's theory is right? What if we can't change fate? What if, whenever we make a choice, the path changes but the destinations the same?

Is there even a point for me to try to stop Sasuke? Will it make a difference?

Somewhere, deep down, I always knew that no matter what I did, it wouldn't make a difference.

But if… if Sasuke does leave, where will that leave me? Just thinking about it made me feel empty inside. It made me feel… cold, desolate, like… like that feeling you get when all you feel like you can do is put your back against the wall, slide down it, and cry.

Useless, that's what I am.

When Sasuke leaves…

When I'm left behind…

How empty will I feel?

"GRACE!"

I shrieked and jumped backwards on the bed as the blond kid appeared right in front of me, resulting in me hitting the pillows at the head of the bed, breathing hard. "I—Naruto!" I shrieked hysterically, "Naruto what are you doing?" I then forced myself to calm down…

Naruto grunted as Sakura and Tenten simultaneously smacked him across the head. "We were worried about you," Tenten said, "Why don't you come out for a while?" she paused and took a moment to peer around the room, "Is this Sasuke's room? Pretty nifty…"

"What?" I asked, "You've never been in here?"

She shrugged, "Not that I know of. We've always hung out in the living room or the dining room."

"Really?" I asked, "For me the only action is in the kitchen and bedroom."

"Did you hear that?" Naruto snickered, "The _action_ is in the bedroom!!!"

I glared at him, "That's not what I mean." I sighed and placed my feet on the floor, and, with my only fully intact foot, squished the soft carpet with my toes, "Why were you worried?"

Tenten plopped down on the dark covers, quickly joined by Naruto and Sakura. "We were taking a walk when we saw Naruto having ramen—"

"I can't believe that you were having ramen at this time of the morning," Sakura said, "I mean, jeez, you should have something more nutritious—"

"Why the hell would I want something nutritious?" Naruto spat back, "Ramen is the only thing that satisfies me!"

"Well, you'll be regretting it later when you get fat and lazy!" Sakura retorted, "We'll see how great_ you_ are at becoming Hokage!"

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, "I'll have you know that ramen has never caused me to gain weight!"

"Yeah," Sakura said, "because you a little kid and you run around a lot! But what about when your metabolism slows down?"

"My what?" Naruto asked, "Oh, I get it, that's one of those—Sakura, I'm a _boy_, whatever it was you just said, I. Don't. Have. It."

Sakura shrieked in frustration and hit the imbecile over the head.

Tenten sighed, "_As_ I was saying, Sakura and I were out for a morning walk when we saw Naruto having ramen—"

"Which, I might add, gives people _the essential_ energy they need for the day."

"Oh my god!" Sakura said, sarcastically, "Are you tying to _impress_ me with long words? Do you even know what essential means?"

"SHUT UP!" Tenten yelled.

There was silence.

Tenten sighed yet again, and I knew it was because she hated it when she had to resort to using her violent voice, "And then we walked over to him—don't even think about it," she snapped when Naruto opened his mouth, "We went over to him and we got to talking—I said, no! Ok, so we got to talking and then Naruto suddenly became really pale and rushed off shouting something about you being really upset… or something…" she grinned, "And that's when we came here."

I blinked. Was she… serious…? "Well," I said, "I was upset, I mean, really upset, but… how did you know that?" I turned to Naruto. Did he and I have some kind of special connection? God, and here I thought I was living a normal life here. Why the hell do I have to turn into a cliché…

"Hey, Grace?" Sakura asked, "You're spacing out again."

"Sorry," I apologized, "Anyway, if we could do something, that would make things a lot better, I don't really want to hang out here all day."

"Wait…" Sakura said, "This is _Sasuke's_ room, right?" I nodded, "So why are you in here?"

"I'm sleeping here," I said blandly.

Three eyes bore into mine, wide eyed. Then, Tenten and Sakura sent each other mischievous looks, "What?" Sakura said, "You're sleeping in here?"

"Yeah," Tenten said, "That's… a little different… I mean, not _bad_, but, just unexpected."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, "I don't—ah! Grace!" he said, pointing at me with a shaking hand, "You're sleeping with Sasuke!"

Sakura and Tenten chuckled evilly at each other. Naruto is so easy to convince.

I recoiled from his finger and blushed deeply at his insane words, "What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, "We're not sleeping together! Why would we be sleeping together? That's absurd!"

"You're sleeping in his house." Naruto said, emotionlessly.

"That doesn't mean we're _sleeping_ together…" I said, "Seriously, you guys just jump to conclusions. Just because I'm staying at his house doesn't mean that…" thoughts of yesterday and last night and this morning came flooding into my hand. "Ah, you're right."

They snapped.

"Wait, Grace," Tenten said, "Before, we were just joking before, are you saying that something actually _happened_ between you two?"

"Ah," I felt my cheeks heat up more, "No…"

"Something did," Sakura said.

"Nope."

"Grace," Sakura sighed, "I'm a ninja, I can _tell_ if you're lying. You're lying, something did happen."

"Ok," I sighed, "I'll tell you…" I glanced worriedly at the door, "But not here, ok?"

"Sure," Tenten said, "You want to go out to breakfast—AND NOT RAMEN!"

"Aw…" Naruto sighed remorsefully.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

We sat down at a table in a restaurant. It was faintly familiar. "Hey," I said, "This is familiar…"

"This is where you and Sasuke went on a date, remember?" Sakura grinned.

"Hey…" I said, "That's right—you guys were spying on us!"

"We've already been over this," Tenten said in a monotone. She brightened, "Ah, Grace! You're back to normal!"

"Normal?" I asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, you're laughing more, and… acting like yourself!"

I reflected upon her words, "Was I different before?"

"Well," Sakura shrugged, "Obviously after the attack you'd be upset… but even before that, you weren't acting like yourself—you were acting seriously. Like you were constantly worried about something."

Well, I thought cynically, that's true. But was it really that obvious? I looked at their faces one after another. Did they worry about me? I can't believe how selfish I was acting! From now on, I'll always be happy for them, no matter how sad I am on the inside, "Oh!" I said, "I've been meaning to ask, where is Konohamaru? I didn't see him, I mean, I saw him at a distance, but I haven't talked to him."

"Ah, he's good," Sakura said, "I haven't seen him either, but I know Bingly is keeping by his side, so I'm sure he's safe."

"That's good." I looked down at the plate, "Am I a bad big sister?"

"Why do you say that?" Tenten asked, appalled.

"Because I haven't seen him since the attack…" I fidgeted with my finger tips, "I… didn't know what to say… to him if I saw him… and the longer I wait… the harder it is to muster up my courage and talk to him."

"I know," Sakura said, "It's ok, Grace. I'm sure he feels the same way. I know!" she said, "Let's go visit him! I think he's staying with Ebisu-sensei."

"That makes sense." I said.

"Yeah, in a few days you guys will be able to move back into the Hokage's mansion," Tenten said as the thought struck her, "You guys will stay there until the new Hokage comes, and then, even after the new Hokage lets you."

"That will be when I come back," I realized.

"Huh?" Tenten asked.

"That's right," Sakura said, "You've got to be careful."

"What is this?" Tenten asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh," Sakura said, "I guess that you didn't know… Grace is going with Naruto and Jiraiya to go find the Fifth Hokage. Oh," she said, "Don't tell anyone, it's top secret."

"Not really," I muttered, eyeing the waiter as he made his way over to us, "I'm leaving tomorrow morning. But seriously, don't talk about it. Sasuke will annihilate me if he finds out I'm going…"

"He doesn't know?" Sakura asked.

I laughed uneasily, "Well, you see… I promised him I wouldn't go…"

"So…" Tenten said, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go before Sasuke finds out." I said, simply. "But he's not going to talk to me for a while. And if I get hurt on the mission… I think that he's going to lock me in his house and make sure nothing happens to me ever again." I sighed, "I wish I didn't promise him…"

Tenten and Sakura sighed romantically, "Wow," Sakura said, "I wish I had a protective guy…. So romantic…."

"Trust me," I said, "It's—_romantic?!_" I asked, chocking on air, "What—what are you talking about?" I cursed inwardly as I felt my face heat up yet again for the umpteenth time that day.

"Ah, welcome," The waiter said as he finally made it to our table, "Can I get you some drinks before you order?" he passed out the menus. He glanced at the three ninja, and then at me, "Ah—Lady Grace!" he said, bowing respectively, "We are deeply honored to have you eating at our humble restaurant. If you wish for anything, do not hesitate, the cooks will prepare any dish you desire!"

I just stared at him, still not used to the way people treat me now that I'm technically 'royalty', or the equivalent in this village. Hmm… that's interesting. I bet I could do whatever I wanted.

Everyone ordered drinks and I ordered a tea and water. I'm not sure what kind of tea it was, I had to have Sakura pronounce it for me. The waiter bowed before leaving.

"I love how we get treated wherever we go with you," Tenten chuckled. "It makes _me_ feel like royalty. Ah… is this cool or what? This is where Grace and Sasuke had a _date._" She wiggled her eyebrows at me, "You're first _date_ with Sasuke…"

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" I said through gritted teeth. "And it wasn't really a date, I was just joking about that… It was just breakfast, jeez."

Tenten frowned, "Will you even go on a _real_ date with Sasuke?"

I frowned as well, staring off into space while I thought, "I'm not sure." I said, "I'm not sure if I ever will—you know, you guys are bringing this subject of Sasuke and I up a lot, is there a point to all of this?"

They glanced at each other, "Well, aren't you going to talk about it?" Sakura asked, "I mean, isn't that why we left Sasuke's house? So that you wouldn't feel embarrassed about talking about it near him?"

"Well," I said, "For starters, I don't think he was there… and for another… yeah." My shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Yay!" Naruto said.

"Why are _you_ so cheerful today?" I asked him, suspiciously. "Ok, so, what?"

"What?"

"What do you want me to talk about?"

"What do you want to talk about?"

"What do you _want_ me to talk about?"

"Whatever it is you think we need to talk about."

"But I don't know what to talk about."

"There's got to be something." Sakura said, impatient with Naruto and my endless banter.

"Ok, how 'bout I recap what happened yesterday?" I asked, "A lot happened so it will take a while… So I left the hospital and went to Sasuke's house to see if I could stay there, because the Hokage's mansion is still under renovation."

"So…" Naruto said, "Why'd you choose Sasuke's house, huh?"

I blinked, "I didn't think that any of you would have room." I said, "I don't know… I guess I just… went there first." I blinked again, "I forgot the real reason… Well, anyway, I was there… and I decided…" my head whipped around and stared around me, and in a hushed voice said, "Wait—we're not safe to talk here either…"

"Why's that?" Sakura asked.

"Not safe….?" Naruto muttered to himself, confused.

"My guards…" I whispered, "They're spying on us…."

Tenten and Sakura glanced at each other. "That's odd…" Tenten said, "Grace," she looked me head on, "I haven't, not even at Sasuke's house, sensed _any_ other presence."

I just stared at her. "That's impossible!" I said, "They—they said…"

"Who?"

"Them," I said, "Jiriaya… everyone!" I paused, "Then again, I guess they wouldn't be true bodyguards if they could be sensed very easily… so I suppose… they shouldn't be able to be sensed…" I shook my head, "Anyway, I was at Sasuke's house… and I decided to take a shower…" my speech slowed as I realized what I was about to say… should I tell them? Their eager faces told me how thirsty they were for what my story. So eager it almost hurt. It was pitiful. I suppose… I'd chance it. "I decided to take a shower," I repeated. "And when I got out I remembered that I forgot my clothes downstairs. Well, I wasn't about to put on the clothes they give you at the hospital, so I decided to go down to get them."

"Wait…" Tenten said, "You went down there."

"Yes."

"In _what_?"

I blushed, "A… towel…"

Sakura and Tenten grinned evilly, "What did Sasuke do?"

"Well, he was asleep on the couch… and I…" My face was probably the same color as the red tablecloth. I fidgeted with the tassels that hung off of it, trying to hide my face, although my newly short hair made that impossible. "I had the urge to look at his face… and… for some reason…I don't know why I did it, I just did… curiosity, I suppose. Well, anyway, he rolled over onto my towel and I slipped."

"You slipped." Tenten said.

"Forward," I said.

"_Forward_?!" Sakura exclaimed, her cheeks turning pink.

"I don't get it." Naruto said. "What do you mean… falling forward…" a slight blush appeared on his face. "Ooooooh…. I get it…"

"I'm guessing Sasuke woke up." Tenten said with a fan girl look on her face. What is up with that?

"Yeah," I said, "The problem was that, because of my foot, I couldn't get up again, and because I was on him he couldn't get up, and then… well, my towel sort of… fell…off…"

There was silence. The waiter came, delivered our drinks, bowed again, and took our orders. I sipped the tea and then coughed. Hot was an understatement. This was _scorching_. Was it even legal to sell someone something this hot? I rubbed the edge of the little handle less tea cup with my index finger. "So…" I said, "Yeah…"

"So." Tenten said, "Sasuke saw… you naked."

"Pretty much." I said.

There was more silence as my words sunk in.

"Did it turn him on?" Naruto asked.

Sakura, Tenten, and my heads whipped toward him.

"_Naruto!_" Sakura hissed, hitting him on the head.

"What?!" Naruto whined, "When I look at—"

"We don't want to know!" Sakura yelled.

This time, unfortunately for Sakura, the whole restaurant seemed to freeze momentarily at the loud outburst. She flushed, muttered an apology under her breath, sent Naruto a death glare and slumped back into her seat, hoping to disappear.

Conversation slowly regained its former volume within the large restaurant.

"Well…" I said, blushing, "I don't think so… and if it did why in the _hell_ would I_ want_ to know?"

Sakura hit Naruto's head before he could possibly answer.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_To be continued…_

Not as long as I wanted it to be, but I would write about 500 words about every week or so, which is why it's so random… Anyway, I'm really sorry about it being so late… Now there's not as much going on so I'll be able to get another chapter in. I might even do it tomorrow.

Keep tuned,

fUnKyToEs


	40. The Fifth Hokage: Part VI

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part VI

WORDS: 4,000 words

DISCLAIMER: I. Do. Not. Own.

WARNING: Some drama. Right, so this one is a little dramatic… (*cough*a lot*cough*) but there's a reason for all of it so those who don't like overdramatic stuff just bear with it (Next chapter will be when the funny stuff happens again, like how the earlier chapters were)

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"And that sums it up," I finished, my cheeks flushing. I felt like the three staring pre-teens were my diary, but the kind of diary that laughs at you when you tell it something embarrassing. Sakura and Tenten suppressed chuckles, while Naruto just stared on with idiotic indifference. "Just say something already," I muttered, poking my forgotten food. It arrived about an hour ago, that's how long we've been sitting here, but I hadn't a chance to eat it, because I was the source of entertainment. Now it was cold, and I had entirely lost the desire to eat.

"So…" Tenten said, when she finally regained a calm composure, "You pretty much… had a lot of…"

"Embarrassing situations?" I finished. It was true. I refrained from telling them the dramatic parts, like when Sasuke and I fought or how I felt afterwards. I merely just explained all the embarrassing things, which, I felt, was all they were interested in.

"Yeah." Sakura said, "You know Grace, I really—and don't freak like you normally do, but don't you think that Sasuke might like you?"

"And therefore might have actually been turned on?" Naruto added.

I sent him a glare, "That's ridiculous." I said, "Why on Earth would he even have a _reason_ to like me? I mean… that's really creepy…" And yet, there was a sneaky feeling creeping in the back of my mind that confirmed, and wanted to confirm, that Sakura was indeed right.

But that was the most terrifying thought. I never, in any dreams or fantasies, imagined Sasuke ever liking me. I mean, not seriously. I'll admit, back when I was just a normal Naruto fan that I would fantasize about Sasuke—I mean who hasn't? He's the heartthrob of _Naruto_, he's supposed to be attractive, and his cool silent and asshole-like attitude is supposed to turn girls on, so then why am I so shocked? Is it because I don't think it's true, or because I don't want it to be true?

How many girls here in this world would kill to be liked by him… and for me, that's the last thing I want.

The _last_ person I want to fall in love with is Sasuke.

"Grace?" Tenten asked, "You're spacing out again."

"Sorry," I said, shaking my head to clear any more thoughts, "Sorry," I repeated, "I don't think you're right," I said, giving Sakura a pointed look, "And even if you were… I don't think I'm Sasuke's kind of girl. I mean—look at me, I'm not a ninja, and I'm not going to be one anytime soon in the future, and I'm not the 'smartest' of people… the only thing that he might see in me is that I like kids—a lot, and he wants to raise a big family, from what I've gathered…" My eyes widened, "Wait… you don't think…"

"I doubt it," Tenten said dryly, "Again, Sasuke's not _that_ type of guy." Her eyelid twitched, "Grace, you're _wrong_. If Sasuke likes you it's not because of _that_."

I sighed, "Well, I hope he doesn't like me," I said.

"Why's that?" Sakura asked, her voice soft.

I paused to reflect upon that question. I wanted to chose my words wisely. I couldn't give anything away. I didn't want to give anything away, and I knew that if I merely answered as I normally would have, my big mouth would have just blabbered away to my heart's content. "I… when I look into any future I might possibly have with Sasuke, friend or lover, I don't see happiness…" I said, finally. Well, it's true, isn't it?

They gazed remorsefully at the table. "Is that really what you think?" Sakura asked.

Naruto, who had been uncharacteristically quiet through the whole conversation suddenly spoke up, "What the hell are you talking about!" his electric blue eyes sparked with furious frustration. "What the hell do you mean 'you don't see happiness'?" He was standing, his voice reaching a full high in volume, which, I might add, is quite loud.

"I…" I said, leaning back in my chair as if that would help me get away from the formidable blond boy, "I was just saying that I don't like Sasuke that way. And I never will."

Naruto just gazed at me. "I can't believe you," he said, "You're so oblivious! You don't even realize how you feel yourself, let alone those around you!"

Everyone, for everyone in the village knew Naruto, all stared. Even I, in complete and utter shock, stared at him. I had never seen him… act this way.

No, I have.

This is how he acts when the true him surfaces from the deep, doubting and troubled depths of his soul. This is the him that comes up when there's someone who needs a desperate change in their life. But… does that mean that now, at this time, _I'm_ that person?

His hands curled into fists, and at first, for a moment, I was petrified that he was strike me, and then he walked, each step shaking the floor, out of the restaurant.

"What… was that all about?" I said, my voice barely audible.

Tenten and Sakura didn't reply, until Tenten said, solemnly, "When you realize what it was about…" she said, "You'll know why."

I blinked. Know… what? What was Naruto so frustrated at? Hold that though, what the hell does Naruto notice that I don't? It was almost embarrassing that there was something Naruto had the insight to see that I seemed 'oblivious' to. Could it do with Sasuke?

All I hoped for at that moment was Naruto not to be too angry with me, or at least not long enough that it would ruin the mission. What am I thinking… screw the mission! I just don't want him to be mad at me in general. Now I have two boys that are (or will be) upset with me. I stood up, told the nervous waiter, who kept hovering by me to see if I wanted anything else, to put the bill on my tab, and, after apologizing to Sakura and Tenten formally, I left the restaurant.

As soon as I left the sun scorched my eyes. I had the instinct to run back into the nice, cool, dark restaurant, but didn't want to relive the painful memories that just occurred. I looked around once my eyes adjusted, to see if Naruto was anywhere near. No luck. I wasn't surprised, he _was_ a ninja after all, so it wouldn't make sense if he would walk like a normal person somewhere, especially after that.

_Normal _person. Nothing described me more than that word. I was just… a normal citizen.

I had the sudden urge to take a walk, which confused me because I wasn't really a person who like to go on a walk by myself, or when there wasn't a destination, but at the time it was the only thing I truly felt like doing.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I'm not sure how long I walked, but eventually I neared a flower shop. No, not _a_ flower shop, _The_ flower shop. Ino's flower shop. I was about to pass right by when—

Sasuke? I thought, almost aloud and I took some steps backward so I could see into the brightly colored shop.

Sure enough, there was Sasuke, at the counter. He was talking with a taller, blonde woman whom I assumed was Ino's mother. The woman was gorgeous, and I see now where Ino get's her good looks. The woman was laughing, clutching her cheek in that flirtatious manner older woman always attain when faced with a younger attractive man. So… Sasuke's working his charm, eh? Although from the desperately awkward look on Sasuke's face, something told me 'small talking' with this woman wasn't high on his wish list.

Wait—what was Sasuke doing in a flower shop?

My vision got obscured by a man and his girlfriend as they walked by, hand in hand. They gave me weird looks as they passed, and I realized it must have been because I was standing in the middle of the road, staring off into space, or at least that's how it looked to them. They were a cute couple…

My eyes widened. Was Sasuke buying flowers for a girl? Then who? I was surprised when a sharp twang of jealously sprang within in. Surprise wasn't the right word, because these… have been coming a lot. More… I just wasn't pleased, I suppose. But why? Is it some sort of older sister complex?

I was faintly aware of Ino's mother saying goodbye and I ran for it. I didn't want Sasuke to catch me staring at him (although I'm sure he was aware of me being there the whole time). Regardless, I didn't want him to _catch_ me doing it. The farther I can get away from him—

"—Oof!" I said, grunting with slight disdain as I ran into something tall. I looked up, and blinked. "Ah!" I shrieked.

"Hold on," the tall, white haired man said, "Chill, kid, you're the one who ran into me."

I sighed as Jiraiya put a hand on my shoulder, rubbing it softly, "How are you kid?"

I disdainfully picked his hand off my shoulder and dropped it. "Don't touch me—what are you doing!?" I said, "What were you doing in my line of escape?!"

"Line of escape?" he asked, leaning against the wall of the alley. He crossed his arms and glanced up at the narrow sky. "What are you running from, kid?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but found I had no answer I wished to accept.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I was walking down the street again, long after Jiraiya and my fateful, I realized later, meeting, and that was when I heard barking. I glanced behind me and felt my spirits lighten up immediately. "Bingly!" I cried jubilantly. I ran towards him, falling to my knees so that he could put his little paws on my chest and lick my face. "Where were you?" I scolded tearfully, "Why didn't you come back to me sooner?"

He gazed up at me with apologetic golden brown eyes. I rubbed his head affectionately. "Don't worry," I said, "I'm not mad. Just _never_ leave me again, listen?" I hugged him tightly, "Promise me, you won't _ever_ leave me?"

He yipped a confirmation. I smiled. "I can trust you," I said, "You'll never leave me…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

By the time I reached Sasuke's house, or houses as I suppose is the proper term, it was sunset. I spent so much time playing with Bingly and being remorseful over Naruto and Sasuke and Jiraiya's question, and the mission and how to tell Sasuke and what to do when Sasuke found out and what Naruto was so upset over that the time just whipped by without me even noticing. I didn't even get hungry till I smelt the dinner that Sasuke must have been cooking. I opened the front door and held it open as Bingly walked through.

The little dog was true to his word, or yip in his case. The whole day he hadn't left my side, much to my relief and a great contributor to my cool down. I took my shoe off (I was wearing the cast for my other foot… embarrassing, I know) and walked through. I was walking with a little bit of a limp, more than usual that is, because the cast was adjustable very slightly for when I was wearing shoes, and I didn't bother to adjust to my barefoot.

I entered the kitchen and saw Sasuke by the back. "Sasuke!" I said.

He didn't reply.

I just stood there, than realized he was ignoring me a moment later, and walked by, ignoring him, and sat at the table, patting my lap so Bingly would jump up. I grunted slightly. Bingly was a small dog, but he wasn't tiny. He will probably be on the smaller side of medium sized dog. Sasuke's eyes flickered to Bingly for a moment, and then said, "Well, at least you found him again." In a monotone

I didn't say anything, then I said, "Actually, he found me."

I then blinked. The flowers, the flowers I had seen Sasuke buying, were on the table, "Oh!" I said, "So that was what you were doing in the flower shop!" I grinned, "You were buying flowers!"

Sasuke slammed the lid on the pot.

Everything fell silent. He just stood there, not doing anything, but glaring daggers into the poor pot, while I just sat in a rigid position, still half pointing at the flower bouquet, while Bingly began to growl at Sasuke, the hairs on the back of his neck and back beginning to stand up.

"What…" I started, "Sasuke… what is the matter?"

What did I do now?

He turned his glare onto me now, and in that instant I knew what the problem was.

"You…" I said, dread filling me from top to bottom, "You know… don't you."

Silence confirmed it.

We just stayed that way for almost two minutes, staring at each other with such intensity that even Bingly began to shuffle uncomfortably in my lap.

"Why?" Sasuke said, when he was able to speak again, "Why?" he repeated. "You…" he stopped, as if he was trying to suppress the urge to yell, "Why did you agree to go? You—you promised me you wouldn't leave."

"I…" I said, not knowing what to say… or more, I didn't _have_ anything to say. I was in the wrong here, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. Well, I suppose the problem here isn't what I _can_ do about it, but more what I _should_ have done. "I'm…sorry, Sasuke. I know I promised you I'd never leave, but then Jiraiya and Naruto asked me, and I couldn't refuse…"

"Naruto…" Sasuke muttered bitterly to himself, "So you willingly agree to go when Naruto asks you?"

"That's not—I mean," I said, "It's not like it's _only_ Naruto that made me want to go, but…" I said, "I don't understand what you're getting at—" I stopped, "Look, I know I promised you, but this mission is of even greater importance—" I gasped and clasped my hand to my mouth. I hadn't meant to say that. It wasn't like I didn't want Sasuke to know what the mission was, but more that I didn't want him to think that the mission was of more importance than my promise to him.

His expression hardened.

"I—I didn't mean it like that, Sasuke," I said, "Look, Jiraiya and Naruto will be there so there's no way I can get hurt—"

"How many ninja were there at the Chuunin Exams!?" He shouted, "And look what happened!"

I was shocked, not only was Sasuke yelling, but he was daring to bring up such a sensitive subject for the both of us. I stood up, "As far as I remember," I shouted back, "_You_ were the only ninja there when I was hurt!"

His eyes widened and he stared at me with an emotion so in shock that I nearly sat back into my chair. "You…" he began, and he continued to stare at me with a dazed expression, "I…" his expression hardened and he furrowed his eyebrows, "You're not going, and that's final."

I bristled, "Who are you to tell me what I can or cannot do?" I said, "What gives _you_ that right?"

"Because I—" Sasuke said, his cheeks flushing, "I lo…"

"_What_?" I asked, "You _what?_"

"I…" he began again, then he turned around and said coldly, his back toward me, stopping in the door, "Fine, go if you want, but this is the last time I'm ever letting you go, understand that." And with that, he disappeared.

I just stared at the door, then sank to the floor and cried.

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When I woke up that morning, Sasuke wasn't there. Breakfast wasn't made, and the house was dead silent. He was giving me the silent treatment, I doubt he even returned to the house last night. I got dressed, took a shower and brushed my teeth in complete silence, trying not to think about what happened last night. Even Bingly, who insisted on sleeping with me, and even taking a shower with me, was silent.

Sasuke and I have been having our short… fuses, but that last one was the worst. That was the first time I've really yelled at one of my friends in true anger… and Sasuke at that. I knew from his voice that he would never forgive me for this, and I also knew that this was my last step of freedom.

I sighed. Hopefully Sasuke will have forgiven me by the time I get back.

Yeah right, like _that's _going to happen.

I walked downstairs, Bingly dancing at my heels, holding onto the railing as I went. I got my bag that I had prepared the night before, and then walked out the door and down the street.

I met Naruto at the gate of the Uchiha compound. I stopped, and then said, "Naruto, for whatever I said that upset you yesterday, I apologize and I hope you can forgive me." I blinked, that was unexpected. I wasn't planning on being so affront about it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think this is better. Get it over with and move on, I suppose.

He looked away, then said, awkwardly, "I'm… sorry too…"

I smiled and rushed forward, embracing him in a large hug. Even Bingly yipped happily. "I'm glad," I said, "Now we can get going. I won't need weapons, right?"

"Nah," Naruto said, "but here," he handed me a shuriken, "For safety's sake."

"Eh," I said, "I'm not sure if that's a good idea…"

"No, really," Naruto said, "Take it."

"I'm not sure where to _put_ it." I said.

"Oh." Naruto glanced at me, and then said, "I guess I'll just hold onto it for you."

"Ok," I said, although that doesn't really help me, but oh well. "Where's Jiraiya?"

Naruto shrugged, "At the head quarters talking to… someone. We're supposed to go there—that's why I came here, to tell you."

That made sense. "Let's go," I said, and the three of us began walking towards the other end of the village.

As I went, I pushed all the troubling thoughts in my mind for another fateful day.

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_To be continued…_

Ok, so I _know_ that there's a lot of drama between Sasuke and Grace in the past few chapters (especially this one, I mean sheesh) but trust me when I say there's a point to all of it. If it seems redundant and overdramatic, I apologize, in future chapters, you will see how important this last fight/s are, if you get my drift.

Well, anyway, the next chapter will be updated within a week, the latest being April 11th, 2009. (I put the dates to make sure I update before then, because an actual date will pressure me into writing it on time). I've also decided to add a 'previews' for next chapters. They will not necessarily be _the_ beginning of the next chapter, and I may change the wording etc, etc,

Please review and thank you for reading!

(Those that reviewed the previous chapter and I didn't respond, I apologize. I'll make sure that I reply to this week's reviews)

fUnKyToEs

**PREVIEW OF THE NEXT CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part VII**

"What… is this?" I asked the old woman.

She smiled an almost evil smile, "As the granddaughter of the late Hokage you have a status that is above the average citizen, therefore, as a legal representative of the Leaf Village, you must dress and act like a princess, therefore we cannot allow you to dress as a ninja."

I picked up the silk kimono, "But do I have to wear this?" I asked, eyeing the tall wooden shoes distrustfully.

She nodded firmly, "Absolutely."

"But…" I said, "How will I carry all this?"

"You're travel bag will be carried by Jiraiya—" Jiraiya began coughing at this comment. The old woman ignored him, stiffly standing straighter and staring me with even colder eyes then before. As one of the elders for the village, she sure knew how to give the evil eye. "And we will have your bags delivered to your hotel that you will be staying in."

"But I thought that we weren't supposed to reveal my identity." I said, my voice bordering a whine.

"We are not," the old woman said, "I never said that you were going as Grace Sarutobi, I said you were going as a _princess._ We cannot allow the citizens whom you will meet and see knowing that the three of you are searching for the fifth Hokage; it will put the three of you in danger as well as the village in an absolute vulnerable position to other villages. Therefore, Jiraiya, Naruto," she hesitated at Naruto's name, sending the boy and icy glare, before continuing, "Will act as two ninja escorting the niece of the Fire Lord to her aunt's house."

"Wait," I said, "So you're saying that I'm…"

"Yes, you will be acting as Princess Haruka," the woman said, "As such you will need to act as a princess."

"I… I see…" I said, trying not to grin with childish glee. "Wait, does the Fire Lord _have_ any nieces?"

"He has twelve," said the other elder, and older man, "His brother's daughters."

"Damn…" I muttered, "His poor wife…"

"He has five," Jiraiya stuck in for good measure, "What a lucky bastard…"

The old woman sent him an glare that shut him up. "On this mission," she said, "You must refer to yourself as Princess Haruka, and _you_," She nodded in the direction of Jiraiya and Naruto, "Must, at all times, refer to her as Princess Haruka."

They nodded.

She sighed, "You are allowed, when you reach settlements or villages to hide your identity, in which you must still refer to yourself as Haruka, and you _must_ stay in character, on the half chance that someone may find out that you are who you truly are. You must act as a princess in hiding." She paused, "This is a very important mission, young woman, the fate of your village rests on your shoulders, make _sure _that you do not let it slip that you are truly the granddaughter of the Hokage. You are a princes, regardless of what you pretend to be while on the mission. Do I make myself clear, Princess Haruka?"

_Stay tuned for next week's update to find out what happens next!_


	41. The Fifth Hokage: Part VII

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part VII

WORDS: 4, 019 words

BEFOREWORD: I apologize for the late update, I'm taking a very stressful animation course that is very time consuming… plus I've been stressed in general. Anyway, I'm excited about this chapter.

Enjoy!

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I knew there was something wrong when I entered the room where Jiraiya was waiting for us and saw a huge mass of… _stuff._

I halted. There was the sourly woman… I forgot her name, but she's one of the elders for the village, she was on a team with Gramps… as well as the man, whom I swear I've seen before, not in this world.

"Please come in, Lady Grace," The woman said, gesturing me in. I reluctantly stepped through, gazing in awe at the countless stuff. It looked like some kind of… I don't know. Weird though. What is the point of all of this? "I'm sure you know by now," the woman continued, not kindly, "That I am Koharu Utatane, one of the elders of this village. And this," she gestured briefly at her companion, "Is Homura Mitokado, who is also an elder of this village."

I nodded, "I am aware of this," I said respectfully.

"As you know, you are being sent on a very important mission, as you are looking for the fifth Hokage. As such, we have prepared your alibi and supplies so you can successfully complete this mission.

I nodded. "But… why all this stuff?"

"You are the granddaughter of the Third Hokage," she said, "You are above the average citizen, and therefore, not only can we not allow you to waltz around some town as a lowly citizen," I cringed at her affront cynical repugnance. "As well, since you are of higher class, we cannot let you waltz around as how you are, it puts you in too much danger, as well as it will give you attention that we do not want you to get. If the other villages were aware that you were away from the village it would put Konoha in an even worse situation, since we no longer have a Hokage, but if they captured you, it would put the village in a very difficult position. Even though one of the Legendary Sannin is accompanying you, we will not risk having only him for your protection, but we also cannot have your absence known, not even to the other villages. So, we have created an appropriate alibi."

"An alibi?" I asked, "What kind of alibi?" I glanced at all the dresses and bags. What on _earth_ could that woman be thinking that was a low profile. Wasn't the point of having an alibi is to keep a low profile?

"You will be posing as the niece of the Fire Lord." Mitokado said.

"The niece of the—_Fire Lord_!?" I asked, "How will that help me?"

"Easy," Utatane said, "The Fire Lord's youngest niece, Haruka, is visiting her aunt on her mother's side. However, you will be posing as her on your travels."

"So you're saying…" I said, "That I'm posing as this…"

"Princess," the lady finished.

"Ah," I said, "And how is this low profile? Not to mention—what is the _real_ princess doing?"

"The real Princess Haruka," Mitokado said, "Is already with her Aunt, under the protection of the Fire Lord. She was sent secretly for her protection, however, it is common knowledge that she will be traveling there, and it would rise suspicion if she suddenly cancelled something as important as meeting her new betrothed, and so we are sending you as her 'political alibi'. However," She said, before I had a chance to object, "You will not necessarily be traveling as 'Princess Haruka'. This is a very dangerous mission, and it is very important that you realize that the moment you step out of this door you are _no longer _Grace Sarutobi, you are Princess Haruka, the twelve niece of the Fire Lord. No matter what alias you attain while in public places, you must not forget this. You may pretend to be who so ever you wish, as long as it is no one you know or yourself." She paused, "What is your name?"

"G—Haruka," I quickly corrected myself.

She frowned, "Well," she said, "I suppose it will take some time for you to get used to." She paused, "We are sending these bags to a small villa outside of this village, where you will be picking up the servants you will need."

"Servants?" I asked.

"Yes," she sniffed, "Only a few, but this is important, because it will show you how important it is to keep your profile low. They, the servants, will only know you as Princess Haruka. They will _not_ know you as anyone else, so be _careful_." She smiled coldly, "Am I understood?"

I nodded, "I will be careful."

"What is your name?"

"Princess Haruka." I answered immediately.

She smiled, pleased. "Very well." She nodded to her companion, and he left the room, along with Jiraiya and Naruto, although the younger boy had to be dragged out before he realized he was supposed to leave. "I will help you in preparing for your journey."

I didn't move for a minute, then I said, "I still don't understand," I said, "Why have me go as someone like the Fire Lord's niece? Isn't the point of this mission to _not_ let the other villages know that we're looking for Tsunade?"

"You have completely misunderstood," the old lady sighed bitterly, "As to be expected…"

I bristled at the obvious insult.

"You see," She said slowly, as if to a simpleton, "This is a mission in which you are posing as the princess so other villages do not get suspicious of the princess's actions. As well, it makes perfect sense that two Konoha shinobi escort you, and therefore Jiraiya and Naruto will also not arise suspicion, and can gain access more easily to places and villages. However, for safety again, and as expected, you will have to hide your 'identity' as the princess hidden in some areas. You will have the servants to assist you, as these supplies are the personal belongings of the Princess herself. She was unable to bring them when she went secretly to her Aunts, and therefore that is also part of this mission. Your mission will be complete when, and if, you reach the Castle of Paradomia, which is where her Aunt resides, and successfully hide your identity. You may then return with the Fifth Hokage. No one knows, not even the Princess's family, with the exception of her aunt, that you are not the real Princess, so be careful."

She paused, "If you successfully complete this mission I will grant you the title of Genin."

I stared at her, "You're saying that if I complete this mission…" I said slowly, "You're letting me become Genin?"

She nodded, "Of course, if _one_ thing go wrong, you will not receive that title. Being a shinobi is more than just raw skill, and it will take much more than that to pull of what you need to pull off, and therefore it is only fitting to treat you as a shinobi. As well, Jiraiya has been instructed to teach you along the way, away from prying eyes, the basic skills needed to be known by a Genin—I believe he has already started, yes? Well, when you return, if he has successfully done this, that too will determine whether or not you can become a Genin."

I just stared at her. I could… become a ninja? Like that?

"Stop staring like a fool," the woman snapped, "It appears you still don't understand the importance of this mission—well, you soon will." She held up something blonde. "You must look like the Princess to be successful for one." She said.

And with that, came onto my complete transformation.

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The old bat had not brought a mirror into that room, so I was unable to look at myself, nor did she let me look through the supplies, because half way through my dressing some ninja came in to take it away to God knows where. I will have to say, trying to get into multiple robes of some massive kimono is _not_ something I want some guys to see. Regardless, when I stepped out, slightly wobbling because of the shoes I had to wear (she forbade me from wearing my cast while posing as the princess, it was packed with all the other stuff), all that Jiraiya and Naruto did was stare.

I blinked, "Stop that," I said, shortly, "I know it looks bad, but you don't have to stare."

"Are you telling me," Utatane said from behind, coldly, "That my handiwork is 'bad'?"

I shivered and said, quickly, "Of course not!" and laughed nervously, hoping she would quickly forgive the mishap. I walked forward again, trying not to trip and Naruto rushed forword and supported me. He looked down at my feet, which were wearing socks but I was still wearing those wooden flip flop things that were like, three inches tall… Japanese culture makes no sense…

"Are you wearing your cast?" Naruto asked.

I shook my head, "I can't really walk without it," I cast Utatane a nasty look, which she effectively returned to me.

"You look really good." He said, "I forgot that your hair was once blond, you should let your hair grow out more and turn blond again."

I forgot for a moment that I was wearing a wig. It was very long and blond, a lighter shade than my natural hair color, and very pretty. I liked wearing it, I liked long hair, mainly because I never had the patience to grow it out. I would have to, from now on, grow my hair out, as well as not dye it any more. Although purple was interesting and fun, I was starting to miss my natural color. "Yeah," I said, "I'll do that." I glanced down at myself. "I can't walk very well in these _clothes_ either."

"You look like a princess!" Naruto said, "I wish Sasuke could…" he trailed off at the look that crossed my face, and changed the subject, "Well, you look beautiful!"

"Thank you," I said, appreciatively.

"Do not worry about walking," Utatane said, "Jiraiya will be carrying you in a carriage," she gestured towards a smallish carriage, that looked like one of the ones that you always see royalty ride in, you know, in those Japanese historical movies. I suppose that makes sense.

"Will I even fit in there?" I asked.

"Of course you will," she snapped, "However, as soon as you leave the village you may if you wish assume another alibi." She paused, "Sakura Haruno will be posing as you in the village. However, she will not be out and about as you normally are." She smiled, "This is so that no one knows that you are leaving the village, as well as the other villages and countries know that the Princess is traveling through here, so we must make a spectacle."

I nodded. "Well," She continued. "The carriage is only till you exit the city… four ninja will be disguised as carriers, and then you will walk with Jiraiya until you get to the location where your servants are awaiting you."

"I see…" I said, although to tell you the truth I was really confused about all of this. It was like everything she said she had something to contradict it. "So…"

"Princess Haruka…" A man wearing servant's clothing bowed to me. I was startled, I had no idea where this person came from. I realized that he, and the three other servants behind him, must be the ninjas that Utatane had mentioned. "Your carriage awaits you…"

I nodded and walked forward, shuffling not only because of my foot, but because these clothes were designed to make the person seem 'dainty', and therefore the only way to walk is _shuffle. _The one that had addressed me came over, bowed and then assisted me into the carriage, his face coming awfully close to mine before I was safely in. I felt the carriage lift up, and start forward.

I wasn't able to see out of it except through a thin slit screen, so I wasn't able to see the crowds, but I was sure able to hear them. I'm glad I wasn't out in the open, because then I probably would mess everything up—The carriage gently touched the ground and stopped shaking. The screen was pulled out. "Please come out," the servant said, "And wave to the crowed, my Lady…"

I sighed. I stepped out, with the assistance of the servant, and waved! I could see the crowds very well because I was staring into the sun, but I was glad. I didn't want to see who was looking at me—especially if Sasuke was among them.

After a few painful moments of waving, I then went back into the little litter (for that was probably an appropriate word for it) and it was lifted up into the air and we left the village.

Once we got out of the gate and went on for about half a mile to a mile, the carriage stopped again and the curtain was lifted. I stepped out and sighed. This was nice. It was so hot that I just wanted to get these clothes off and be done with it.

One of the servants poofed out of his transformation, and, low and behold, it was actually Anko. "Hey kid," she said, "I'm here to make sure you can get out of that dress."

I took a step backwards, "Eh…" I said, "That's ok, I'm fine…"

"No really," she said, an evil grin crossing her face, "Let me—"

"Ok, Anko," The first servant said, "Stop freaking her out."

Anko frowned, disappointed, "But it's so easy it's almost pathetic." She sighed, "Well, if you say so Ryuichi."

Ryuichi? My head whipped towards him, but he was still in the 'servent' guise, and he wasn't looking at me either, but was disassembling the litter with the other two ninja. Anko approached me, and said, "Princess Haruka," she said, "Please, may I help you undress?"

It sounded so weird… but… I nodded, "Yes, thank you."

We went to a little alcove and she helped me undress and get into a less formal kimono, but I was still wearing the shoes. We came out (I still had to wear the wig, besides, it was attached to my head and it only comes off with a special ointment… which Utatane hadn't given me… for some reason… I think she wanted to make sure I wouldn't ever take it off). Anko sighed, then said, "Well, if you don't need me…" And she disappeared.

One of the other ninja sighed, "Give it to Anko to skip out on bringing all this stuff back…" he said. "Well, Ryucihi? Let's go." The two ninjas left.

Ryuichi, who had transformed back to normal sometime during the 'undressing', walked in the direction of the village.

Before he passed me, his hand touched mine very softly, "Be careful," he whispered, his head leaning in for a moment, just as it had when he was helping me into the carriage. Right before his head touched mine and walked away, his hand trailing in the silk kimono.

And then he was gone.

I just stood there, in complete shock.

What… was that… all about?

I touched my hand with the other, and then my face. Was he going to kiss me? Was he going to… I shook my head, "I'll think about all this later," I said, and walked forward.

"Grace…" Naruto said, "Did he…"

I shook my head, "He was just telling me to be careful," I said, "Don't worry."

"Oh," Naruto said. I think he believed me.

Jiraiya, however, gave me a quizzical look, before jotting something quick down in his book. I watched him, but didn't press the matter. I didn't want to bring the subject up with Naruto around, let alone at all.

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Asuma and Kurenai appeared on the bridge, causing the two travelers to halt.

The two didn't look at each other, but the shorter one said, "It's been a while… Kurenai… Asuma…"

"What are you two planning?" Asuma asked, "You were originally from this village, weren't you? What did you come back for?" His eyes widened, "Wait—you are…!"

The shorter man slowly removed his large straw hat, slowly dropping it onto the ground, letting the wind blow it.

Asuma narrowed his eyes, "There's no doubt about it…" he said, "Itachi Uchiha… huh?"

"Well," the taller man, with the even larger sword said, "You already know of my companion, eh? Then let me introduce _myself_." He removed his hat, and said, with his shark like appearance terrifyingly blood thirsty, "Kisame Hoshigaki… Well, now that we've been all acquainted…"

Asuma turned towards Itachi, "I guess we were bound to meet in the future… guess now I have to take you on."

"Looks like your hometown doesn't like you very much," Kisame laughed.

"I've also heard of him… Kisame Hoshigaki. Originally of the Hidden Fog shinobi… A Daimyo killer, wanted for suspicion of starting destructive activities against other tribes. The water tribe has been searching other tribes to find this slippery shinobi."

"You people are S-Class criminals," Asuma said, "Ranked on the bingo book."

Ksiame and Itachi said nothing.

"Itachi," Asuma said, "You're pretty brave to come back after causing that incident…" There was a definite threat in his voice.

"Asuma… Kurenai…" Itachi said, speaking up for the first time in a while, "Please do not interfere with my affairs… you will only get killed."

Asuma scoffed slightly, "Eitehr something is wrong with the way you think or you are just too full of bullshit. It turns out it would have been better for you not to have come back to this village. What is your purpose for coming here? And why," his eyes narrowed, "Are you leaving the same day that Princess Haruka left the village?"

Kisame clicked his tongue in annoyance, and then swung his sword out from behind him and slammed in into the concrete at Asuma's feet, shattering the ground like an earthquake. "This guy sure is annoying, isn't he?" he growled, "Does he want to die?"

In an overly patient voice, Itachi said, "Just do what I say. Just make sure they don't get back to the village, but don't do too much. You're work can be too excessive."

"It's been decided then," Kisame said, widening his white eyes till they were a perfect circle. He transitioned his sword so it was once again resting on his shoulder.

Then, in a moment's flash, Kisame's sword and Asuma's hand grips collided. Kurenai slithered into nonexistence.

_This is…_ Itachi thought, narrowing his eyes as the older woman disappeared in a surrealistic mist of smoke. _Genjutsu!_

Asuma struggled under the pressuring weight of Kisame's sword. He gritted his teeth. There was something wrong with the sword…. It seemed that the sword _itself_, not just the shark man's insane strength, was bearing down on him. Kisame gave a yell and the wrappings around the sword came loose, ripping free from the shark skin surface of the sword.

It broke through Asuma's defenses, slicing his left shoulder. Asuma skidded backwards to prevent his whole arm from being detached, and then grasped his injury with his right hand. "I'm gonna' slice you to bits!" Kisame lifted his right shoulder, ready to swing the sword to finish off the man before him.

Asuma grinned slightly, "You're late… Kurenai."

Kisame's eyes darkened, and then widened in shock as water formed up to his waist around him. Itachi was pulled backwards into what looked like a tree, except for it's branches held him in place, as if he were captured by mother nature herself. Kurenai's head, and then upper body, appeared from above Itachi's head.

In her hand was a kuani, "It ends here," she promptly told the younger man.

Kurenai didn't even feel the branches around her till Itachi said, standing before her on the ground, "Genjutsu of that level has no effect on me."

_Genjutsu counter attack!_ Kurenai thought. She had to wake up. She bit her lip, causing a drop of blood to slide precariously down to the edge of the chin. Her eyes widened as the genjutsu began to disappear. It was a matter of minutes. As soon as the illusion disappeared, she dodged a fast pivot side kick from Itachi… but not fast enough. She blocked the blow and was thrown over the edge of the bridge.

"Kurenai!" Asuma shouted, before she even hit the water. This, however, was not a time to be distracted.

To emphasize this point, Kisame said, "Getting distracted will only get you killed…" while pressing even harder with his sword.

Kurenai gathered herself together, pushing herself to her knees. She jolted with surprise as Itachi said, from just behind her, "As expected of you, Kurenai."

Itachi blinked, his eyes moving to the left as a figured appeared behind him. "This is the end for you, Itachi."

Asuma cleverly dodged the remainder of the attacks Kisame sent his way, then, with his brass knuckles clutched firmly, and part of Kisame's cheek was blown off without even the slightest contact. Kisame's eyes bulged out of his head, "What tha'…" he muttered, forming hand seals with obvious anger. _Water Release!_ He thought, and water swirled around him like a whirlpool. _Water shark splurge!_

A glorious mass of water surged towards Kisame, only to be repelled by an equally massive amount of water. _The same jutsu!_ Kisame thought, his eyes widening.

The water dashed away, splattering onto the bridge and overflowing into the water.

"Kakashi," Asuma said, "So you finally got here?"

The Kakashi that was standing in front of Asuma shook his head, "Got here a bit ago… so I ask you," diverting his attention to Kisame.

"Let's put an end to this," the Kakashi behind Itachi, holding a kunai to the boy's throat, said.

There was a moment's silence, until Itachi said, slowly, "Kakashi Hataki." Confirming the man's identity to himself. He narrowed his eyes slightly, taking in his new opponent.

_This is bad…_ Kakashi thought, _Those eyes are of a true Sharingan successor. This is the worst possible situation… nothing I can do about it now, though. _

"I guess it's time to dance." Kisame grinned, excited, "Now _I_ have a chance to show off my jutsu!" he glanced at Kakashi, "So you have the sharingan too, eh, Copy Cat Ninja Kakashi?"

"So these were the two that we sensed at the sweet shop a week ago… I thought you had left but now that I think of it I've sensed you're presence lately, but I never thought that it would be Itachi Uchiha, and… the mysterious hidden ninja of the Mist Village, Kisame Hoshigaki, am I right?"

Kisame laughed, "Well, well, you know my name… I'm honored." He grinned, "Well, let's get started…"

"Move out of the way, Kisame," Itachi said, coldly.

Everyone looked at him with surprise, Kisame especially, with a look of disappointment on his face.

"If you were to fight only one person, this would be quickly resolved but… you're about to fight many people, and that would take a much longer time. Remember why we came here in the first place… getting injured is not the reason we came here!"

"Then do you mind telling us why you did come here?" Kakashi asked.

"We've come looking for something…" Itachi said, dangerously.

"Looking for something?" Kakashi asked again, his voice prompting Itachi to continue.

"Yes…" Itachi said, "Two things in particular."

"You're avoiding the question," Kakashi said, his nerves picking up. It was hard to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"The nine-tailed fox," Itachi said.

"Naruto?!" Kakashi asked, his eyes widening. _He had just left on a mission escorting…_ _oh no…_

"And," Itachi said, "We are also tracking down the 'Princess Haruka',"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_To be continued…_

Well, I hoped you liked the chapter! This is the last chapter in this arc when a large portion will have to do with something other than the actual searching for the fifth hokage, as in, this is last you'll see the other characters in a LONG time (actually, this isn't true, you _might_ see some more of _some_ characters, if you get what I mean *caugh*Sasuke*caugh*)

So… I'm excited about how this arc is panning out. We're already in the seventh chapter of this arc and we're just getting into the plot of it… that's sad…

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions leave a review! They're really encouraging!

Thank you for reading,

fUnKyToEs

**Next, in Truthspeaker**

"Don't worry about it," Jiraiya said, overhearing my conversation with Naruto, "I'm sure that Sasuke didn't take any offence!"

I sent him a death glare, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm just offering my opinion…" he said, pouting.

I sighed, "And what would _you_ know of the matter… you don't even _know_ Sasuke!"

"It may be true that I've truly never _personally_ met the boy too often…" he said, "But as for this conversation's issues… I happen to be an expert."

"What?" I said, my voice joking, "Well, duh, I mean you're the porn king of the Fire nation, of _course_ you know about awkward situations!"

"No," he said, "I mean that I happen to be an expert on _your_ experiences."

"Mine?" I said, "How? Are you suggesting you were there?"

"Let's just say that I have good connections…"

"I don't think my bodyguards would tell you—Oh… my…god," I said, exhaling deeply as it dawned on me exactly _who_ was my bodyguard for the past few days. "JIRAIYA!"


	42. The Fifth Hokage: Part VIII

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part VIII

WORDS: 6, 084 words

DISCLAIMER: I don't own, or pretend to own, Naruto

BEFOREWORD: I'm terribly sorry for how late this is. I had about half of it done shortly after completing the last chapter, and then I had all these projects due and I kept forgetting to put time aside for it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I like it, and it has a lot of 'predictions' in it, if you get my drift (as in this chapter, if you really smart, will have some spoilers and hints about what will happen in the future) Anyway, enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOo

Bingly barked angrily at Jiraiya's heels, connecting that my irritation at the moment was caused by him. I couldn't stand this. "Jiraiya," I said, "What is your problem?"

The older man turned his head slightly so he could see me. He was carrying me, so I was hoping he wouldn't walk into a tree, except for the fact that he _is_ a legendary ninja… Oh, I wish it were possible… "I have no idea what you're talking about." He said, smoothly.

I shook my head, but not out of agreement with him, but to clear my mind of any cruel and taunting words I wished SO badly to throw at him. I was also irritated at the fact that we couldn't refer to me as 'Grace', and therefore couldn't really talk about the subject that was irritating me so.

Are you a little curious?

Let me recap the past few minutes…

"_And?" Naruto said, "You think that he's still angry at you?" _

_I hadn't told him about how Sasuke is upset with Naruto, but more just about his reaction to my going on this little quest, which was hard, because I feel like Sasuke wouldn't be __**quite**__ as angry if Naruto wasn't going. "Yeah," I said, "I mean, I didn't __**mean**__ to get him angry, that's the __**last**__ thing I want to do, doesn't he understand that?"_

"_I'm sure he does," Naruto said. "Plus, from what you've said, you guys had a cool time together."_

"_It was embarrassing, you mean," I said, "It pretty much consisted of my harassing the poor guy."_

"_I'm sure he enjoyed it." Jiraiya said, from his rather close position of walking behind us._

_I glanced backwards at him, narrowing my eyes, "I hope you're not suggesting something, you big perv!"_

"_Oh," Naruto said, grinning, "I have to agree with him, though."_

"_You're both sick," I said._

"_So, Ayame," Naruto said, for that was the name we thought (namely me) of to call myself when I wasn't 'Haruka'. To tell you the truth, it was all getting a bit confusing. Haruka… Grace… Ayame… they were all technically made up names (for me at least) so it was a little confusing having to keep them all straight. Plus I was never that good at acting. I understand that when I'm posing as Haruka, I can't ac t like 'Grace', because then that would give away the fact that I wasn't Haruka… but why do I have to 'hide' the fact that I'm Haruka when the point is to make the other countries think that I'm Haruka?_

_I'm so confused. The old woman had mentioned that it would be odd if I waltzed around as the princess the whole time, which is why I have to act as someone else, for security's sake, but that alibi can't be 'Grace' because then the other countries would figure out that I'm not Haruka but in actuality Grace, which would cause some problems since everyone thinks that I'm safe and out of reach in Konoha…. Still confused._

"_What do you think?" Naruto said, after finishing what he had said, turning to Jiraiya._

"_I agree," Jiraiya said, he grinned, "What do you think, Ayame?"_

"_Huh?" I turned towards him, "About what?"_

"_Were you even paying attention?" Jiraiya muttered, "Repeat yourself, Naruto."_

"_Ok, listen here G—Ayame," Naruto said, fumbling a bit over the name for a moment, "Don't you think it's a little funny that __**all**__ those things happened to Sasuke and you… I mean, if this were a manga those things would mean that you two are meant for each other!"_

_I was about to point out to him that this __**isn't**__ a manga till I realized that it technically was. Great, I thought, he's right, the stupid little boy has to be right about the most random and unfortunate things… "I don't care what you think," I sniffed, "I don't think Sasuke enjoyed himself. I mean, it always involved him running away."_

"_He's just a kid," Jiraiya said, chuckling evilly to himself as he peeked in his notebook, "Of course he'd leave."_

"_What's that?" I asked, glancing at the book. _

"_Just some notes," he shrugged, "You know, for my books."_

_I was suspicious, especially when Naruto lagged behind a little so he and Jiraiya could giggle and whisper while looking in that little notebook, and my suspicion rose when they seem to giggle harder when they glanced up at me. Is there something about me in that book?  
_

"_Yes," Jiraiya said, snapping the book shut after a while, "I'm sure that Sasuke didn't take any offense to what happened."_

"_When __**what**__ happened?" I asked, nearly tripping on a root. Walking in these shoes would've been hard, but having only part of a foot makes it a little harder. Thankfully you can't really __**use**__ your toes with these shoes. _

"_You know, all the 'harassment' you were fretting over before." _

_I raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And how would __**you **__know? You don't even know Sasuke."_

"_Hey—I've met the little squirt before—briefly, and from a distance, where he probably didn't know I saw him... But when it comes to the contents of this discussion, I happen to be an expert."_

"_Meaning," I said, cynically, "That you're the porn king of the Fire Nation, right?"_

"_Well," he said, pleased, "That may be true—but what I mean is that I'm an expert on __**your**__ business."_

_I halted in my tracks. I turned to look at him with a puzzled, and growing knowing look. "Don't tell me…" I blinked, "Are you suggesting you were there?"_

"_Let's just say," he said as he passed me, "That I have good connections with your body guards."_

"_I don't think my body guards could legally—Oh. My. God." I said, cutting myself off as I realized what he meant. "You're not telling me…"_

"_Yup."_

"_That you—"_

"_Yup."_

"_And you __**knew**__ about this?" I said, pointing accusingly at Naruto. He shrugged._

"_Hey, I found out today when I saw what he wrote in his notebook." He kept walking, not realizing the important amount of information he just gave me._

"_Oh…oh… oh…" I said, almost laughing with maniac anger, "Jiraiya, you __**better**__ tell me that you didn't take __**notes**__ while you were my body guard?"_

"_Of course I did!" he said, as if talking to a simpleton, "The only reason I agreed to body guard you is because I found out that you were staying at Sasuke's! __**And**__ not to mention that my editor has been on my tail for my next book, and I needed some good material—and let me tell __**you**__, I got some good—" He narrowly dodged a stick I threw at him._

"_You took __**notes**__?" I seethed, "How __**could**__ you? That's so gross—and immature—you're not going to base a book on—eww—can I see it?" my voice abruptly changing to genuine curiosity. I was curious to see what he wrote—can you blame me?_

_He tossed me the book, "You better not rip it up, I contacted my editor this morning and she loves the idea."_

_I snatched the book off the ground (yes, I didn't catch it) and flipped it open, "I'm going to ignore what you just said—oh my god!" I said, "What is this?"_

"_Just notes I took for research… I've decided to base the book on it." He seemed proud of himself, "I'll even dedicate it to you, if you want." He said, pleased._

"_Look," I said, my eyes never leaving the pages as I flipped through it, "I really don't care, I mean, I'd __**rather**__ not have my name in a porno book, but I mean… what I have a problem is you make me look like a retard! I'm not as stupid as you're making me out to be! You make me sound like some dumb blond who doesn't even know what she's saying."_

"_Except that you __**are**__ some dumb blond who doesn't even know what your doing," Naruto chided me._

_My fist shot out and nailed him over the head. "No, no, Naruto," I said, "__**You**__ are the dumb blond who doesn't even know what she's doing."_

"_I do to—Hey!" he yelled, "I'm a __**he!**__"_

"_Could've fooled me," I muttered, "Ok," I said, "I have another problem with this… you make it seem like we were __**enjoying**__ ourselves… Oh my… you improvised!" I nearly shouted, "The towel scene was nothing like this!"_

"_Towel __**scene**__?" Naruto asked, still rubbing his sore head. _

"_Well," I shrugged, "That's what it's labeled in the notes." I glanced at Jiraiya, "Why did you write this unnecessary stuff?"  
_

"_I didn't improvise," he said, a look of such disdainfully hurt pride that I was sure he was joking, "I always write the truth. You might not realize, but that's the expression you two were wearing when you guys were…"_

"_Don't say it," I snapped, "I'm __**really**__ not in the mood." I sighed. "So, the pervert has closed on his prey…" I tossed him the book, "Have you started writing it yet?"_

"_Rough draft," he shrugged, "It's about a girl named… Ayame," he grinned and I narrowed my eyes._

"_No," I said, "You can't use Ayame."_

"_Why not?" Jiraiya asked, "That's your favorite name, right?"_

"_Although that may be true," I admitted, "I don't want you naming—I can't believe I'm giving you __**advise**__ on this—you're using my life for a book!"_

"_Your __**love**__ life," Naruto interjected. _

_I threw him a 'look' and then turned back to Jiraiya. "Can we take a break?"_

"_A what?"_

"_A __**break**__—you know, the thing you do when you __**stop**__ whatever you're doing—like, say, walking?"_

"_Yeah, sure," Jiraiya slumped to the ground, while Naruto helped me ease to the ground. Although I've gradually gotten used to walking, even though we have to walk at an amusingly slow pace, I'm still not too good at keeping my balance, so getting down into a sitting position on the ground is __**pretty**__ hard._

"_So I'm guessing that the reason you don't want me to use the name Ayame is because you want you're first child to be called that?"_

"_If it's a girl," I corrected him._

"_And," he said, "If my notes are accurate, which I know them to be… you want Sasuke to be the father?"_

"_I'm sure Sasuke would—" Naruto began._

"_**Don't**__." I ordered, cutting him off before he could say whatever unseemly thing he was about to. "I never said that. I merely suggested that I wanted her last name to be Uchiha."_

"_Meaning that she'd have to be related to Sasuke is some way," Naruto said._

"_Ayame," Jiraiya said, suddenly, catching me off guard, "Don't you think it's odd that you and Sasuke…" he didn't finish what he was about to say. He glanced up at the sky, then towards where we just came from. I wonder what he's thinking about. _

_It hit me. "Jiraiya," I said, panic filling me, but he didn't answer. He picked me up, slung me across his back rather quickly and roughly, and then started off at a brisk pace._

"Where _are_ we going?" Naruto asked him.

Jiraiya shrugged, "I just think it's important for us to keep on task. There was a slight worried look on his face, which only confirmed my fear…

Itachi… I wonder… what is he like in person?

It's ironic because this is any fangirl's dream, to meet the infamous Itachi, but to tell you the truth; ever since I arrived here I've been dreading it. Perhaps it was the fact that he scares me, I mean, he _did_ kill his family, no matter what I read in the manga, it doesn't take away the fact that he murdered them. Not only that, but because this is real life, I doubt I'll walk away from any experience alive. Sad, I know, but I'd be much happier if Itachi and I never met.

I glanced down at Naruto. The boy was prattling on and on and _on_ about how he was so excited to learn the killer technique Jiraiya was going to teach him, and how he was going to finally beat Sasuke…

I knew, with Naruto here, Itachi would come. That's the reason he's after us, right? Unless… unless he's after Princess Haruka… but then again, that makes no sense. Why would he be after Princess Haruka? The Akatsuki wouldn't have any interest in that… no… my eyes widened. What if he's after me? My hands tightened on Jiraiya's shoulders. His shoulders rippled slightly under my hands; his silent way of reassuring me of my safety. I relaxed. Jiraiya is here, after all. If he was able to keep Itachi from taking Naruto, he can keep them from taking me as well.

I shuddered. If we _do_ meet up with Itachi, that means we'll probably meet up with Orochimaru. Although I didn't interact with him that often… I still… hate him. Not only is he responsible for the death of my Grandfather… he wants to take Sasuke away. I gritted my teeth. I _have_ to make sure that I meet Orochimaru. I have to make him not take Sasuke away.

And yet, who am I kidding? How will _I_ convince him to not take Sasuke? If I offer myself, that won't make a difference, Sasuke will just go anyway… I blinked. If Sasuke went to Orochimaru, I wonder if he'd take me with him? I don't want to leave the Leaf but… the thought of being away from Sasuke forever is… well, more than painful.

This mission is nothing. I feel lonely, sure, but that also might have to do with our unfortunate goodbyes… but Sasuke in the Sound? Always far away? Always the enemy? The betrayal? I can't stand it. It's so painful, just thinking about it.

It's times like this that all I want to do is run up to him and—

I blinked.

What was I about to say?

Say I don't want him to leave me?

Hug him?

… _Kiss_ him?

I shook my head, my face heating up. No, no, no! Bad Grace! I can't believe I just thought I wanted to kiss Sasuke! Where did this feeling come from? And how long has it been there? Although shocking, it didn't seem new, which scared me.

Am I liking Sasuke?

No… this is bad… if I like Sasuke… then that will make me a 'she likes him and doesn't want him to go, he doesn't like her that way so doesn't care' and in that case, it won't matter what I do! Sasuke will still leave! I shook my head, trying to organize my thoughts, and decided firmly _not_ to like Sasuke, not in _that_ way, at least. And if I eventually did develop a crush—no wait, I already had a crush on him… I mean, can ya' blame me? If I develop _feelings_ for Sasuke, I can't tell him… no, that would just get in the way of stopping him. Yeah, it would just be like Sakura in the manga.

That's right, I _can't _let myself develop feelings, and I can't let Sasuke that I'm starting to.

I wanted to smack my head, but I had to hold onto Jiraiya to stay on his back. We started to approach one of the villages on the outskirts of the Leaf. "Hey, hey!" Naruto said, pointing enthusiastically, "How 'bout as soon as we get a hotel you starts teaching me that technique!"

"Hey," I said, "What about my servants?"

They halted.

Naruto looked up quizzically at me, then looked at Jiraiya, "What servants?" he asked, dumbly.

"Eh…" Jiraiya said, "I'm afraid that… we might have… forgotten about them…"

I sighed, "Does that mean we'll not be able to travel with them?" I have to say, I'm a little bummed out. I was looking forward to having people dote on me like I was a princess!

"We'll go back later," Jiraiya said, "That will give us enough time. Besides, it's already nearly the end of the day. We should get some rest, then tomorrow we'll double back and pick them up."

"Ok," I said.

"So what _is_ that technique that you're going to teach me?" Naruto asked, his mind wandering fast and in an unorganized fashion. His face lit up in excitement, a huge typical 'Naruto' smile on his face.

"It's a killer technique," Jiraiya said, unenthusiastically. He'd long gotten tired of the boy's pestering.

"Yeah," I said, "It's a killer technique, stop asking it or he won't teach you!"

"Look here, woman!" Jiraiya said, irritated, "Don't put words in my mouth—but she's right, if you don't shut up I won't teach you."

"And you'll never get better then Sasuke," I added.

Naruto snapped his mouth shut for about five seconds before opening it again to complain about being hungry. I looked down at him with certain distaste. It's not that that I hate the boy, I don't even dislike him… but listening to him talks about absolute _nonsense _for _hours_ is just plain painful. Imagine an entire episode of nothing but Naruto talking nonstop in his high pitched excited voice.

That would be my life right now…

I sighed as we past some people on the road. The road was becoming more 'civilized' or perhaps a better word for it would be 'developed'. The road coming here was somewhat ragged, and rural. It was a typical woodland path. But this past, probably only ten or twenty minutes away from the village (we could see it clearly) had venders walking down it, and lots of people. The closer we got to the village, the more crowded it got.

I shifted uncomfortably on Jiraiya's back. I didn't like the looks people sent me. It wasn't out of disgust, although there were some women who sent jealous glares my way when they found their husband or boyfriend looking at me, it was all out of… desire I guess. I suppose the wig really does do wonders. People kept turning and staring at me. I bent my head so my mouth would be at Jiraiya's ear and whispered, "Why are they staring at me like that?"

"You obviously haven't looked in a mirror," he whispered back, not as quietly, "I mean, you should really grow your hair out, you would be gorgeous."

"Imagine what Sasuke would say!" Naruto whispered in my ear.

I nearly shrieked surprise.

Naruto had suddenly appeared on my back, now me giving _him_ a piggy back ride while Jiraiya was giving me one. Jiraiya grunted under the extra weight, but I knew that it didn't bother him. Well, the _weight_ wasn't bothering him, it was the fact that he was carrying _both_ of us that was bothering him.

"Am I the only one who'll be working?" he muttered.

"Yeah," I said, my voice strained from the effort of staying on Jiraiya. "Naruto, I can't hold on to him with you like that!"

He hopped off, grinning from ear to ear, "Aw," he said, "It was fun!"

"You're a freak, you know that?" I muttered.

"You're right," Jiraiya muttered back, "He is a freak."

I smacked him over the head, "You the same, idiot!"

"I'm not!" he protested.

"Yeah, you are!" I said.

"Do you want me to put you down and _you_ can walk all the way there?" he retorted.

"I'll be good," I said, meekly. There was a moment of silence before I said, "Can you train me too?"

He nearly stopped in surprise, "You want to continue your training?"

"Yeah," I said, "I mean, we have the time!"

"But, what do you want to learn? Before it was just the basic techniques, just… controlling chakra. You don't want to learn _that_ technique, do you?"

The resengan? You bet, but I knew it was out of the question. "No… I just want you to train me some technique."

"You've barely mastered cloning, and even then they only last a few seconds, and aren't perfect replicas. Do you really think that you're ready for something like… bigger?"

I shrugged, "I'm a fast learner," I pointed out, "I got really far in just a month."

"Sure," he shrugged, "I'll admit you have potential, but before we had a _month_, now we only have a few weeks."

"Which is pretty much a month—please?" I asked, "This would mean so much to me!"

"Just let her do it—crap!" Naruto yelled as his foot made a particularly distrusting squishing sound as he stepped on the ground.

"Quite literally." I said, sardonically.

"Fine," Jiraiya said, his normally fast pace outdistancing Naruto as Naruto paused to wipe off his shoe on some grass. "But please, when I tell you to stop, you _must_ stop. You, of all people, can't overdo it."

I cocked my head in confusion, "I can't?" I asked, "Well, why not?" We were getting closer to the buildings.

"Because…" he said, then he paused, trying to figure out what to say. Naruto hadn't caught up to us yet. "You're special," he said, "You're not the kind of person you can… easily control their chakra, so it takes a lot more concentration and training to be able to use it without… stimulating harm."

I didn't understand a word of what he said, but it… sort of makes sense.

Naruto yelled for us to wait up as he zoomed by surprise travelers on his way towards us. "Hey!" then he began going on and on about some pretty girl that walked by, which, of course, grabbed all of Jiraiya's attention and he no longer had any self-motivation to speak with me.

I know it's impossible for me to learn a technique, especially at my level, in the short time I'll be on this mission… but I want to get stronger so badly. I know I sound like Sasuke, but this is a different kind of strength that I desire. It's the desire to protect those dear to me… and Sasuke… he's on the top of the list. I want to protect him—be with him, the most in the world. I know that if I ever come across Itachi and Orochimaru on this mission, there'll be nothing I can do. I'll be useless, and I'll always be useless. But maybe, if I can change myself, and make myself stronger, I won't have to worry about being useless. Those people who have died, or will die, because I wasn't strong enough to prevent it… I don't want that burden on my shoulders. I want to be able to protect them, save them, and _not_ be useless.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"_As far as I remember,__**you**__ were the only ninja there when I was hurt!"_

Gigantic hole mutated the huge boulder. The corrupted piece of earth looked like a piece of art, but also like Mother Earth was ravished herself, the impurity of the marks that would forever scar.

_How much stronger do I have to get?_ Sasuke thought, breathing heavily. He couldn't stand it.

"_When I was hurt…_"

There was so much anger, pain and blame in those words. So much uncovered grief, grief he hadn't seen in her. He realized how well she kept her feelings from him. He remembered the next morning, when she left for the mission. She hadn't seen him sitting on one of the roofs, a ways away from the gate, so not even Naruto would sense it, although he truly needn't worry about that, and he watched her as she left the Uchiha compound. _For the last time,_ Sasuke seethed, _I will make __**sure**__ that this is the last time she ever leaves. _

It wasn't just the fact that she left, that left such a scar on Sasuke. It was _who_ she left with that caused such anger to boil in him, the anger that surfaces whenever there is mention or thought of Itachi.

It was Naruto—of course, he wasn't surprised. That hatred that was boiling in him, the betrayal he felt. Who else could it be but Naruto? Naruto was the damn reason all this was happening between Grace and him. He couldn't hear what they were saying—and truthfully, he didn't _want_ to know. But then the hugged, such a torrid embrace, although unromantic, it was still more than even _he_ had ever experienced with her. Excluding the awkward situations that occurred throughout the time she spent with him, there were little to no times when the two truly spent time together, no true passion, just ironic random circumstances.

And then she left—with _him_.

It was _his_ fault, he knew. Although there was some resentment towards Grace, for lying to him and going against what he said, he couldn't blame her. How could he? Whenever he thought of any hatred towards her, it killed him that such emotion was coming from him to her. No, Grace was not to blame. She's too pure—too innocent. She understands nothing of this word, it's blank, new, and strange, that much he's gathered from her. He didn't know who she truly was, or where she came from, but she's from nowhere are here, that much he was sure of.

She was like a lost puppy, willing to follow anyone who offered her food and shelter.

He had to protect her from that. He knew she wasn't strong enough, emotionally or physically, to save herself. He _had_ to protect her. Although she's only been gone for a few hours, the screaming silence of her absence was deafening…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kisame looked down irritably at his companion, who was lounging on a rock. Itachi was sitting, his legs dangling over the edge, gazing at the scenery. "You can fight how and where you want…" he said, "But I don't know… The timing is wrong now."

"To meet those two and kill him, as well as take the girl, it's a good time to fight." Itachi said, and although his words disagreed with Kisame's, his voice remained completely unemotional.

"It was good that we found him at the ramen shop, and even better luck that the girl was sent along with them, but he's protected by one of the legendary three ninjas." Contradicting his worried words, a sly shark like smile stretched at his gills. He itched for his sword, wishing he could have a stab at the Sage himself right there right now.

"Ah, but…" Itachi said, standing up, "It's said that every strong man has a weakness."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kurenai, Asuma and Guy stood around Kakashi's sleeping form. The exception, of course, was Guy, who was relaxing, sitting backwards in a chair, his arms resting on the rim.

"Those guys' still haven't found Naruto," Guy said, "That at least is a relief."

"But even though Jiraiya and Naruto, as well as Grace, went to one of the out skirting villages, they're still apart of the leaf. It won't be hard to find them, Itachi knows Naruto's face."

Guy's eyes flickered to the door, then he gently lifted a finger to his lips, hushing quietly, indicating for Asuma to cease talking.

There was a somewhat jerky knock on the door, before it opened and Sasuke came in, "Kakashi, where have you—" He stopped talking at the shocking appearance of Kakashi asleep and three high ranking ninjas standing around him. He walked in, heading towards the head of the bed, "Why is Kakashi sleeping? And why are there Jounin gathered around here while he's resting?"

"Um…" Guy said, his stereotypical awkward smile on his face, "Nothing really…"

Sasuke nearly believed him, about Kakashi sleeping, but he was still skeptical of why the three of _them_ were here. He opened his mouth, about to question further when the door slammed open. A ninja charged in, out of breath and face pink with excitement and shock. "Is the story that Itachi has returned really true?!" He asked, his words jagged as he warred with the desire to speak and the desire to breath. "And that he's chasing Naruto and Lady Grace?"

After saying this, he blinked, realizing _who_ was in the room. But the damage was done.

"You idiot…" Kurenai sighed, exasperated.

Sasuke's eyes were nearly bulging with a blind glare. He couldn't even see, nor was he trying to see. He was so overcome with shock, that he almost had to concentrate on each word the man had said.

_Itachi… here…_ Rage boiled within him, the same rage that had boiled within him at any mention or thought of Itachi, and then the next words sunk in. _Came for Naruto… and… __**Grace**__…_

He roughly pushed the man out of the way of the door, and dashed out, deafly ignoring Guy's yell of protest. He sped through the streets, aiming for the gate. _He came back to this village… _ he thought, _For Naruto and Grace…_ _Grace…_ Fear clutched him. What if… What if Itachi found out about Grace? About his relationship with her? He wouldn't… he wouldn't be planning on killing her, because since she came into his life the massacre was no longer complete?

_And why Naruto?_ He thought. _Why is he chasing Naruto?_ He clenched his fist. _Why Naruto?_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What a strange town…" Naruto mused to himself, his head turning this way and that so fast that I was sure he wasn't able to see anything and I was also surprise he didn't snap his neck.

"What are you talking about?" I said, crossing my arms as I attempted to balance on one foot, keeping my weight on my good foot. "It's just like the Leaf. Almost exactly alike, actually," I said, gazing around. "The similarities is almost uncanny."

"What are _you_ talking about?" Naruto asked, "Have you not _seen_ the Leaf? It's nothing like this!"

"It's exactly like this!" I said, "And technically, we still are _in_ the Leaf, this is a province of the Leaf, and although the Leaf has no complete authority over it, we oversee the government, protection and economy of this little village."

He blinked at me. "You just said a lot of words I don't think I'll ever understand," he said, shrugging, "But this place is nothing like the Leaf."

"You haven't been to many Fire Nation villages before, have you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not really."

I raised an eyebrow, "Not really as in, NO, or as in, 'eh, a few times'?"

There was silence as he stared at me. "What?" He asked finally.

"Hey, Ayame, Naruto," he said, "I found a room for us—hot ticket!" he said, drool immediately dripping from his mouth as he eyed a particular beauty.

I turned to look at her. She had an incredibly body, with long black hair, yellow brown eyes, and a tight fitting dress. Definitely a whore. When she saw the drooling faces of Naruto and Jiriaya she winked seductively.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya yelled, "Ayame! Go to your room," he forcefully stuck the room key into Naruto's mouth, "And start training on refining your chakra!"

"Fwha?!" Naruto mumbled, attepting to get the key out of his mouth, "Fwhack kang off twaining if thagth?"

I grabbed the key from inside his mouth and sighed. "There's nothing we can do. It's completely useless." I then grabbed is arm and dragged him inside, quick asked the lady at the front which room it was and then down the hall and into the room. There was only two beds… I hope Jiraiya isn't getting any funny ideas… Anyway, he or Naruto will have to sleep on the floor. Don't forget, _I'm_ the princess!

Naruto dropped the bag on one of his beds and climbed on, sitting cross-legged. "I guess we should start our training." He shrugged.

"Might as well," I muttered, "I mean, who knows when the pervert will come back?" I just hope he doesn't bring her _with_ him, I thought.

I sighed. I really didn't want him to go… what if Itachi appears when he's not gone? Fear clutched my throat and I suddenly found it hard to breath. What if Jiraiya doesn't come back in time?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke entered the small village on the outskirts of the Leaf in little to no time. He stared at all the hotels, then decided that he didn't have time to look through all of them. He rushed to the first one and immediately asked, "Is there a stupid blond boy about my age, a purple haired girl, and an old man with white hair staying here?" he hammered.

"Eh…" the clerk said, "Yeah, I think I know the people you're looking for…"

"Which room is it?" Sasuke asked.

oOoOoOoOoOooOoOoOoOoOo

There was a knock on the door which jarred my senses and caused me to fly off my bed in a frenzy. Naruto stared at me with a slightly shocked expression, then he rose from the bed and started walking towards the door.

"Wait…" I said, quietly.

"I bet he's been rejected already," Naruto smirked.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke knocked on the door as hard as he could. The door opened slightly and he roughly grabbed it and threw it open, shouting, "Grace!"

A stunned couple of three stared at him. The blond boy, who was standing at the door, took a few steps backwards in fright. The man whom Sasuke only assumed was the grandfather stared surprised from a relaxed position next to the table, and a plump older girl with greasy purple hair, that looked more like it turned that way because of unfortunate circumstances rather than being dyed, gazed up at him with a slight blush on her face. _Wrong…_ Sasuke thought, his heart skipping a beat at the thought of Itachi already being there…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I leapt towards Naruto, shakily grabbing his arm and jarringly halting his progress towards the door, "Wait," I said, my voice shaking from fear, "Don't… please don't… answer…" There was another knock, and a new vibration of fear rushed through me. Even Naruto felt it. He gazed at me with a confused expression.

"What are you so worried about?" he asked.

"I just…" the knocking came again and it was all I could do to keep myself from screaming. My body was shaking so badly that I could barely hold onto Naruto, and the hand that wasn't preoccupied with that was clutching my mouth, trying to force the silent sobs to stop, but my hand was shaking so badly that it didn't really accomplish anything.

"Grace?" he asked, comfortingly, "What are you afraid of?" He seemed genuinely frightened. He probably hasn't seem me in such pitiful hysterics.

Let me… "Let me," I said, shakily, barely able to walk, "Let me answer it…"

I walked, having to support myself with the wall, and approached the door. My hand reach out, hesitantly, towards the handle. It retreated as soon as it touched the brass, as if burned. I jumped when there was another set of knocks, harsher this time, or perhaps it was because I felt like it was personal, like they were telling _me_, Grace Saroutubi, to hurry up. I grabbed the handle and pulled it open, and saw…

_To be continued… _

oOoOoOoOoOooOoOoOo

I made it long to compensate it being so late… I wasn't intending it to be so long but then I just couldn't stop writing. I was going to keep going but I decided this was a perfect stop (although I didn't even get to get to the good part…) Anyway, I'll 'hopefully' update within a week. My classes have cooled down so I should have time now. I have a class that's ending this week so once that's done I'll even have an empty block in school to work on it, which will be nice.

I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!

Thank you,

fUnKyToEs


	43. Bonus Arc: The Beach: Part One

TITLE: Truthspeaker Bonus Arc: The Beach

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: Part One: The One with the Risqué Bikini

WORDS: 4, 047 words

BEFOREWORD: Well… I know I promised I'd update sooner with Chapter 43, but it's harder than I thought, because getting it realistic is quite challenging… but I'm almost done. All I have to do is edit some of the parts that I originally had trouble with, but that shouldn't take me that long. I should have it done by May 24 (tomorrow) but I wanted to make sure you guys didn't think I forgot or was ignoring you so to make up for that I whipped up a bonus chapter that had to do with summer (where I am it's BEAUTIFUL weather, so I was inspired) and the beach.

Enjoy…

P.S.: Because there was some confusion... I realized that I forgot to mention that if a chapter is labeled as a bonus chapter, it means it is entirely separate from the plot. This chapter has nothing, nor ever will, to do with the original story line, it's just fluffy humor. Please remember that, this has absolutely nothing to do with the story line, so please don't be confused if both of Grace's feet are intact or something similar. If I _had_ to place it in the storyline, it would be somewhere in the early summer, so just before the Chuunin exams started, but again, this has nothing to do with truthspeaker, which is why the 'title' is called truthspeaker bonus arc. ~.^ Have fun reading!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Are you sure about this?" Sakura asked.

"Duh!" Naruto nearly shrieked. "Are you kidding? This is the best idea ever!"

I grinned proudly. Of course it was. It was _my_ idea after all. How could it be anything _but_ spectacular in every way?

"But…" Sakura said, "There aren't even any beaches _near_ Konoha…"

I shrugged as I shouldered a towel into the bag, "Who cares? It doesn't have to be a beach… just any…" I pushed harder, "Any…" This towel was going nowhere… "…place with water and sand!" the towel went in. The bag was bulging with towels, sunscreen and swimsuits.

"But…" Sakura said, "Who's going?"

"Well, me for one," Tenten said as she slid through the door, barely getting past Ryuichi, who was leaning, his eyes closed, against the door of the frame. She glanced up at the tall man, wondering briefly, as everyone who had to get past him did, what he was doing, but she got no answer except a silent flick from his lips, inferring that he wasn't actually asleep. "This is going to be so awesome. The Hokage has released some of the Genin, so they can come."

"He did?" Ryuichi opened one eye, intrigued, "Is we really that low on missions?"

Tenten shrugged, "He said it was some kind of recreational thing… you know, like a break, holiday, a chance to relax. It's the beginning of summer. You know," She said, putting down her bag, "I don't know who's all coming though."

She was wearing her normal clothing. I guess she's going to change when we get there. Sakura was wearing a pink summer dress, and Naruto, no surprises, was wearing his usual orange jumpsuit. I myself was wearing jean shorts and a white tee-shirt. My bathing suits (Naruto and Sakura picked them out for me last week, when I asked them too) are in the bag. I haven't looked at them yet, they're still in the package. I know they'll fit, because there's no reason for them to get me a swim suit that doesn't fit… I just hope it's not… you know, like _that, _if you get my drift.

"Did you hear me?" Tenten asked, rapping her knuckles lightly on my forehead, "I asked you who else was going?"

I swapped her hand away. "Naruto." I said, "Sakura."

"Oh _no_," She said sarcastically, "I didn't know, _really_." She smiled, "I mean, who else from _us._"

"OH," I said, "Well, I think Sasuke's coming…"

Naruto grinned, "I _knew_ those bathing suits would come in handy!" I sincerely hope he's not referring to the ones he picked out for me…

"Anyone else?" Tenten asked.

"Lee…" I said.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Jeez…" she muttered, "Can't I have a moment's peace?"

"Hey," I said, "Imagine how much fun _Lee_ would be at the beach?" It's any true Naruto fangirl's dream… I thought; see Lee go crazy on a beach at sunset… God… I have to remember my camera…

"_Anyone else…?_" Tenten asked slowly, "God, what's wrong with you? It's like talking to a brick wall…"

"She's been like that all day," Sakura called from the kitchen.

"She's been like that all her life," Ryuichi muttered.

I threw a bottle of sunscreen at him. "And how would you know?"

He tossed the bottle, which he had caught with no problem, up into the air and caught it again, "We ANBU are very smart," he winked. I growled at him.

I turned to Tenten, "Sorry about that," I said, "Hmm… let's see…. Neji…Shikamaru…"

"How did you get _him_ to go?" Tenten asked, eyes wide.

"You _don't_ want to know." I said.

Tenten stared at me for a moment, "Actually I _do_." She said, "You have caught my attention there, girl."

"Ino is going…" I said, "When she found out Sasuke was going to be shirtless at the beach she insisted on it."

"Of course," Tenten nodded, "I was expecting that."

"And…" I said, "Shino is going…"

There was silence, before we all burst out laughing.

"You've got to be joking," Tenten laughed, "_Shino_?!"

"I know!" I giggled, "I never thought of how funny that is until just now!"

"So who else?" Tenten asked, wiping tears from her eyes as she heaved a few deep breaths, recovering from her laughter.

"Kiba…Choji… _Hinata_…" I whispered, glancing at Naruto, who was too busy stuffing his bag with ramen to hear. Tenten giggled, "and… I think that's it. Yeah," I said, "I think I named everyone. Yup, I think I got everyone."

"Except _me._" A hurt voice said from the doorway.

I looked at Ryuichi, who had a playing mockingly hurt look on his face.

"Ah," I said, "Please allow me to rephrase… I meant _everyone of importance._"

He frowned at me, "You still mad?" he said.

"Yes!" I said, "I'm still mad?"

"About what?" Sasuke asked as he walked past Ryuichi into the room.

"Oh, Sasuke!" Tenten said, "How are you?"

He shrugged, not even looking at her. He kept gazing at me, expecting me to say something. "Oh!" I said, "Ryuichi decided it would be funny to 'try to save me' while I was in the baths. _Not_ the most courteous thing to do!" I said.

"I thought you needed assistance." Ryuichi shrugged, a playing smile on his face.

"In _what_?!" I asked, "Getting out of the water? Using soap?"

"Well," he said, "You sure don't know how to do the latter…"

I threw another sunscreen lotion bottle at him, which he caught, laughed, and then left the room.

"Damn…" I said, "We're going to have to get more sunscreen lotion…"

oOoOooOoOoOoOOoOOooOooOo

"Wow!" Sakura said, "This is so beautiful! Who knew there was such a beautiful lake just outside of Konoha!"

"You didn't know?" Ryuichi said as he stuck the umbrella into the coarse sand. "This is quite the hotspot." He put his hand to his brow to block the sunshine. "Although, I have to say, there doesn't seem too many tourists around…"

I shrugged, "That's good, means we have the whole place to ourselves."

"Why are you so happy about that?" Sasuke asked from behind me.

I turned around. He was still in his normal clothing, as was everyone else (as in, they haven't changed yet into their swim suits), "Well," I said, "That just means we'll have some privacy." I glanced at where Lee and Neji were bickering on how to set up the changing tents.

That's right, you heard me, _changing tents._ Tents to change in. One for the boys, one for the girls. Obviously they were separate. I'm so excited! I glanced around at the random servants of the Hokage (cough*ANBU*cough) who were grudgingly bringing things such as the grill and beach umbrellas and everything else that one might need at the beach. They left with scowls on their face, glaring at Ryuichi, who was the only one of the ANBU actually allowed to stay there. Said ninja looked a little too smug about the matter.

I sat down in the sand, grabbing Sasuke's shirt as I went, pulling him down. His face turned a little red, probably out of irritation, and he sat next to me, a little close, but that was my fault. I leaned towards him and whispered in his ear, "Let's go on the sailboat when the sun sets, ok?"

His face turned a deep red, which was amusing, but a little confusing, "What's the matter?" I asked, "Why's your face like that?"

He was just looking at me, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly ajar. "What?"I asked again, giggling at his odd face.

He shook his face, getting up, and then reaching down to help me. I got up, and wiggled the sand between my toes. "Don't you just love to do that?" I asked him, "Toes in the sand? It feels so weird, and when you walk, it's like crunch… crunch…crunch… and it feels so soft…" I took a few steps, crunching the toes through my toes with each foot to emphasize my point. I looked back, laughing, and he smiled.

"I'm going to get changed." He said, nodding in the changing tents' direction. "And help Neji put them up."

"You're not helping Lee?" I asked.

He scowled sarcastically, "He won't let anyone help him," he muttered and started walking towards their direction.

I chuckled, believing every word he said, then turned and looked down the beach a little far down. It was morning, just an hour or two till noon… And there was Shikamaru, laying in the sand, a little ways down, asleep. Or taking a nap. He was in swim shorts, but looked like he had no intention of going in the water… I chuckled evilly to myself. Well, _that's_ going to change…

I heard a dog bark and turned around to see Kiba and Akamaru running towards me, with Naruto hot on their heels. A quick glance around and I saw that everyone, except Sasuke and myself, were dressed for the beach. Everyone was wearing a bathing suit, and some of the girls were wearing sarongs.

Hmm… I'll explain to you, since it's fun for me to see all of them wearing bathing suits…!

Shikamaru was wearing plain green shorts that actually looked suspiciously like they were boxers. Choji was wearing… I kind of wish he kept his shirt on… but he was wearing red and green shorts that I think are a size too small… but no one tell him that or he'll probably kill you… Ino is wearing… something that I wouldn't feel comfortable letting children see… speaking of which… Konohamaru is wearing black and white striped board shorts, and he's playing in the water with Undon, who is wearing shorts, I think, I can't tell, because he's in the water, but Moegi looks soooooo cute in that pink tutu one piece! Tenten is wearing a green bikini. Neji is wearing dark blue board shorts… _damn_ he looks hot in those! Lee…

Lee is wearing a Speedo bathing suit…

I now know why Tenten was skeptical of him coming… I'm going to try to _not_ look at him for the rest of the day…

Shino was wearing grey and blue board shorts with one of those Hawaiian flower shirts that had a conveniently long collar, which was up instead of down so it covered his the bottom half of his face. Hinata was wearing a really cute purple one piece that was soooo cute! But she had her parka on over it… And Kiba—

I gagged as Kiba rammed into me, picking me up and running as fast as he could. Naruto ran after him, at a very high speed and a very annoyed look on his face. Kiba laughed and picked up his pace, ignoring my ecstatic screams of protest, although it was mainly all in the moment… the truth was that this was kind of fun!

Kiba stopped and spun around, lifting me by my waist and spinning me. I shrieked in surprise. Then I screamed for real when Naruto rammed into Kiba and caused Kiba to let go of me. I closed my eyes, my body automatically going into a fetal position, attempting to protect me from hitting the sand. But I didn't hit the sand. I heard whatever catch me grunt slightly from the impact, but it didn't fall. I looked up to see Sasuke. "Sasuke!" I said, "You caught me!"

He glanced down at me, raised an eyebrow, "Do you want me to change that?" he asked.

My arm tightened around his neck, "No." I said. "I'm glad." He was carrying me bridal style. I have a feeling that this always happens… It was then that I noticed that…

Sasuke was shirtless.

"Wow!" I said, "Sasuke! You must work out a lot!"

He blushed slightly and looked away. "Well…" he mumbled, "I _am_ a ninja…"

Everyone's wearing a bathing suit," I said, "I should probably change." I hopped out of his arms and glanced at him. Even though he was naturally pale, he didn't look out of place at the beach. In fact… I glanced at what he _was_ wearing. He was wearing black board shorts (surprise?) with white Hawaiian flowers. They were the sort of shorts that you normally see on professional surfers. I have to say, it suits him well… especially since they're black and white… ok, stop side tracking!

"I'll be right back!" I said, "Don't beat up Kiba and Naruto too much, ok?"

"I can't promise anything," he shrugged, so serious that I actually feared for Naruto and Kiba's lives for a moment. I decided to trust Sasuke's self control and ran towards the changing tents.

When I got there Tenten, Sakura and Hinata were already in there. "What are you guys doing in here?" I asked, "Didn't you guys already get changed?"

Tenten nodded. "We're hiding from Lee," She whispered.

"Why?" I asked, lifting my shirt above my head. "Are you playing hide-and-go-seek?"

"Worse," Tenten whispered, "We're playing 'Get-away-from-the-creepy-boy-wearing-Speedo"

"Ah," I said, dropping the shirt on the ground and sliding my shorts off, "So you saw that too, huh?"

"Grace," Tenten said, rolling her eyes, "Of _course_ we saw. _Everyone_ saw. Everyone on the other side of the God damn _lake_ saw."

"I suppose he should have chosen a different color than neon green," I admitted.

"Well," Sakura said, recovering from what appeared to be shock, "He could have not _worn_ it to begin with."

"That means nothing," I said, "I mean, doesn't he normally where… you know, like Speedo for the whole body?"

"That's different," Tenten said, then she stopped, "Actually," she admitted, "You kind of have a point… but what are we going to do about him following us around?"

Hinata whimpered and my heart went out to her, "I'll talk to him and convince him to leave you guys alone—he should listen to me."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Then he'll follow _you_ around." She pointed out.

Damn… I didn't think of that… "Then I'll tell Sasuke that he's harassing me."

"That…" Tenten said, "Wouldn't be the best idea…"

"Why not?" I asked, "I mean, it can't be _that_ bad. Sasuke wouldn't take it seriously."

"I think," Sakura muttered to Tenten, "All it would take for Sasuke to want to kill someone is to see them following her around… _let alone_ her complaining that they were harassing her."

"I agree…" Tenten whispered back.

"What was that?" I asked, in my bra and underwear, while I walked over to where my bags were. "Where are those bathing suits?" I asked Sakura as I rummaged through them.

Hinata whispered a goodbye, waved and ran out at the call of Kiba, who was apparently wondering where all the girls disappeared to (Ino being the exception). Tenten and Sakura quickly left the tent as soon as I drew the packages out of the bag. For some reason they looked like they didn't want to be there when I opened them… I have a bad feeling about this…

I opened the first one and nearly dropped it.

"What…the…hell?" I asked, picking it up. "Is this even a bathing suit?"

I shook it out to see it better, and then narrowed my eyes. This _has_ to be a joke. Are they serious? A thong? They think I'll seriously wear this? I threw it on the ground and stepped on it, irritated. Ok, next bathing suit. I just hope it's not the same.

The next two were normal string bikinis, well, they were a little skimpy, but at least they weren't a thong… One was a white one, that was actually quite pretty but they were strapless, so they probably weren't the kind to go swimming in unless you wanted the top to slip down… and the second was a black string bikini that was a little sexy, but it was the only one that either wasn't a thong or that the top piece wouldn't fall down (because at least this one _had_ straps).

I guessed the thong was a joke, but the other two suspiciously matched Sasuke's bathing suit. I hoped they didn't plan it. At least neither went with _Lee's_ bathing suit. God, that would… _God_…

Anyway. I slipped the black one on and looked around for a mirror. I wanted to know what I looked like before I went outside.

"You look like a whore." Came a voice from the doorway.

I spun around to see Ino standing there. She was wearing a purple bikini that was so skimpy… it _could _have been a thong. "What do you want," I asked her.

"You trying to impress Sasuke with that?" she asked.

"Are you trying to impress Sasuke with _that_?" I retorted.

"Look," she said, narrowing her eyes, "I won't back down."

"From what?" I asked, "I don't know why you hate me so much. I mean, seriously, what's your problem?" I smelt something cooking. Looks like they started the barbecue, and I was glad. I'm soooooo hungry! Ever notice how being at the beach makes you really hungry? And thirsty…

"You don't know what my problem is?" she asked. "You're a rival!" she said, as if it was the most obviously thing in the world.

"In what?" I asked, taking a sip of water from one of the canteens that was on the ground. It had Sakura's name on it so I assumed it was ok.

"For Sasuke's love." She said.

I chocked on the water, gagging as I nearly fell to my knees, gasping for air. When I finally caught my breath, I looked up at her, wondering if she was joking, "Are you serious?" I asked, "I'm not your rival in that? And if I am, then I'm sorry you mistook my _friendship_ with Sasuke as… I don't know, trying to… make him fall in love with me! Sasuke and I are just friends."

She frowned, "Then why do you two hang out so much? And spend so much time together?"

I frowned too. "Because… we're good friends?" I asked. Then I shook my head, "We're like a brother and sister."

She gave me a look that expresses disgust and shock. "Are you kidding?" she asked, "You really think—ah," she said, "This makes so much more sense… _Now_ I understand…" She flicked her hair, "Well, whether you want it or not, we're still rivals. You may not _think_ you are, but I now know better than you do, that we are rivals for Sasuke's love." She turned around and sauntered out of the tent.

I stared at her as she left. What did she mean, 'although I didn't know'? Is she implying that she's smarter than me? Regardless, if she wants to play that game, then so be it. I don't care. _I'm_ not her rival, and if she wants to see me as hers than that's her problem. I'll just try to ignore her.

Unless she involves Sasuke… that would piss me off.

I stepped outside, getting blasted by heat and brightness of the sun, then walked around the tent to see the majority of the people either standing around the barbecue, chatting, or in the water. I started off at a run, before someone jumped in my path.

I reeled backwards and nearly landed on my butt. "Lee!" I said, "What on Earth were you thinking? Don't just jump out on people like that!"

He put his hands on his hips, sporting his muscled chest almost comically, before saying, "I'm here to ask you on a date." He said, before looking down at me. "Grace!" he said, "My beloved you look ravishing!"

I shuddered, "Please don't use that word to describe me… _ever_." I got up from the sand and said, "I'm sorry, Lee, but I can't go on a date with you… we've already been through this."

"But…" he said, tears springing into his eyes, "But…"

"I'm sorry…" I said again, wanting to kill myself. I _hate_ it when he corners me like this. "Can I get by?"

"Of course," he moved out of the way.

I smiled at him and began to make my way towards the bonfire. I halted and turned around. "Why are you following me?"

A hurt look crossed his face. "But you're so beautiful and youthful that I _must_ bask in your glory for as long as I can!" he exclaimed.

My eyelid twitched. I turned around and kept walking, then stopped when he began to follow me again. "Stop it," I said.

"But my beloved!" he cried.

"Don't call me that!" I said, taking a few steps back away from him. "Lee, _please_, act a little more mature!" Don't get me wrong, Lee is the best… but when he gets like this… it's really hard to be patient with him.

"But—"

"She said no." a cold voice said from behind me.

"Sasuke!" I said, happier than I can express, as a turned around.

Sasuke didn't look at me; instead he was glaring at Lee. Lee narrowed his eyes and stood up straighter. "My rival…" he seethed, "Sasuke Uchiha…"

What is this? The day of rivals?

"Look you guys," I said, "Sasuke, he was just being funny, he didn't—"

Sasuke grabbed me by the arm and jerked me behind him. Then he said, "Don't go near Grace again."

"You can't stop fate," Lee said, and I rolled my eyes. "Grace shall be mine, whether you like it or not. Today will be the day we decide the conclusion of this rivalry for her love, and the winner will take the girl!"

I rolled my eyes again.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Well," he said, "I can't sit back and let that happen." He turned around, grabbed me by the hand and dragged me off, leaving a seething Lee behind.

"Whoa," I said, "I knew you didn't like Lee, but I didn't know you were so protective!"

He shrugged, then stopped a little ways off and looked at me.

There was a moment in which nothing happened, then he spun around and faced the other direction, his hand at his face.

I raised an eyebrow, confused, "Sasuke?" I asked, "What's the matter?"

His voice was thick, because his hand was covering his nose, "Nothing…" he managed.

I put a hand on his shoulder, "Sasuke, are you ok?"

I felt his muscles ripple under my hand, then he seemed to recover and turned around, wiping his nose with the back of his hand, "I'm fine." He said, "You really shouldn't wear that," he said, "It's… not decent…"

"Since when do you care?" I asked.

He didn't answer.

"Well," I said, "If you think _this_ is indecent, you shouldn't have seen what _Naruto_ picked out for me."

"Sasuke!!" A high pitched voice cried out. Sasuke grunted as Ino jumped onto his back, giggling hysterically. "I'm so glad you're here! You look so sexy in those shorts!"

I glared at her. How dare she say that?! I mean, it's true but—scratch that thought. "Ino," I said, "Sasuke and I were having a conversation, could you please reserve the… _cuddling_ till later? Like, when Sasuke has left and you're here all alone?"

She glared back. "What are you jealous or something?"

Sasuke looked nervously between us, wondering what was going on.

Ino and I continued to glare at each other…

This…

Was _war._

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I decided to make this a continuous mini story arc for the summer! I should have another chapter (for this arc) updated within the next few days to a week.

Again, I'm sorry to those of you who are waiting for the next actually chapter, but as I mentioned, I'm trying to make it as good and realistic as I can… I should be done with it by tomorrow.

I just wanted to make sure you guys knew I wasn't ignoring you or have forgotten, plus I missed writing pure raw humor.

For those of you who are curious what's going to happen in the next chapter of the bonus arc… *evil chuckles*

Let's just say this won't be the last time Sasuke gets a nose bleed.

Have a good day!

fUnKyToEs


	44. The Fifth Hokage: Part IX

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part IX

WORDS: 4, 547 words

DISCLAIMER: I don't own, nor pretend to own, anything that has already been copyrighted.

BEFOREWORD: Ok, sorry it took a while, but here it is. I'm still not pleased with it, but now that the boring stuff is out of the way (almost…) I'll be able to start writing the _good_ stuff… I'm excited about that. Since I'll be doing the Bonus Arc, I'll be updated hopefully two chapters a week, but one or the other may take two weeks to finish, since there are two separate plots going on right now (Truthspeaker and Truthspeaker Bonus Arc: The Beach)

Anyway, Enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I grabbed the handle, my hand shaking so badly that there was a moment when I thought that my hand might slip off it, turned it quicker than I anticipated, and pulled in towards myself. Careful not to ride over my toes as I did so.

My heart doubled in speed, leaping up to my throat, before calming down.

It was just the hotel manager. I was so relieved, that my heart hurt. I could still feel my blood pounding, and my ears rung with the vibration. "Y—yes?" I asked my voice barely audible. "What is it?"

The man didn't answer for a moment, staring at me like I was seeing a ghost, then answered, "Well, the man who ordered this room didn't give me his name… he ran off with that… woman before we got to that part, so I was wondering to whom should I charge the room too?" He was a little older than middle aged, I guessed in his fifties, and was well past his prime. He was balding, and his beard was humorously scattered across his face. He had a pot belly that was not very well hidden beneath an apron. Why he was wearing an apron I couldn't tell, but I guessed that he also acted as the 'cook', although the apron didn't have any stains, but had paper and pencils in the pockets, so maybe it was just a frock of some kind. He had crooked but clean glasses that rested precariously at the edge of his nose. He had a somewhat glazed appearance to his eyes.

"Ah," I said, "That makes sense…" that old geezer… It's just like him to run off before getting to the part of _payment_. "Just a moment…" I went back inside, ignoring Naruto's pleading glances and grabbed my purse. I rummaged through on my way back, looking for the info the 'old woman had given me about payment… it was info on Jiriaya of course, the old advisor seemed to be more than eager to dump expenses on him… but where _was_ it? "Em... Sorry I don't—"

I tasted blood as I bit into my tongue from the impact of hitting the wall. In an insane moment, I thought I had bitten _off_ my tongue, but after a moment my senses returned and I concluded, hazily, that my tongue was still on. I heard Naruto scream my name and dash out, only to be hit himself. I couldn't see very clearly, my vision was going in and out. I couldn't breathe; there was a heavy weight across my neck that was pressing me to the wall, dangling me there, like I was some sort of a doll. Flashbacks came from when I was in Gaara's clutches, and a newfound fear flushed my system as the looming face of Kisame entered my blurred hazy and barely decipherable vision.

Bingley flew towards Kisame, and Kisame grabbed the pup out of midair, his monstrous hands dwarfing the dog, making it look no bigger than an infant. Kisame gazed at the pup, who was gasping in a typical dog way, when it sounds like their coughing or puking rather than gasping. A cruel animalistic smile spread across his face and threw the dog down the hall. Even after he fell to the ground there was a small hole where he had hit. The dog didn't move. I struggled against the hand that held me, but it was so firm and strong that I soon gave up, concentrating instead on breathing, and maintaining my consciousness.

"If I had known," Kisame leered, "That she'd be this pretty… I might have been a little more eager to come sooner." I cringed inwardly at this thought. Although, I though bitterly, I wouldn't be in this predicament if Jiraiya was here. And he was supposed to 'protect' me…

"You… bastards…" Naruto wheezed, picking himself up. "What the hell do you want?" He halted, halfway up, staring at something that was blocked from my view. His eyes widened, as if seeing a ghost.

Kisame turned his attention towards Naruto, gazing down at him skeptically. He raised a dark blue eyebrow, his little eyes narrowing as he took the blonde's appearance in.

"However…" Kisame said, "I find it hard to believe that this shrimp is really the nine-tails fox."

"Kisame," a voice, so clear and dark that it cut through my blurry mind and sharpened my instincts… the instincts of prey at the sound of its predator, "Let her go."

There was a hesitation in the hand, then it opened and I dropped to the ground. I coughed and grasped my neck, breathing suddenly becoming more painful then welcome, but relieving nonetheless. It was like for a moment I had to relearn how to breathe, before I could get myself to take a breath. I looked up, to see Kisame move out of the way to reveal the man which the predator's voice belonged to.

The first thing I thought, was how much he looked like Sasuke, and oddly enough, it was this thought that was startling and most frightening. The nearly unemotional face was what next hit me, not because of how unlike it was to Sasuke, but how much I could see Sasuke in it too. Not now, but in the future… I could, by looking into Itachi's eyes, see what Sasuke will become.

"I told you not to be so violent," Itachi said, and then he turned his cool, like burning ice, eyes on me. He paused, seeming to take his time, then he said, calmly and expectantly, "Please, come with us, Lady Grace… and you too, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Like hell I will!" Naruto said, "You think you can just do that to Grace—and Bingley—and think I'll just walk away with you?!" He bared his little fists, ready to charge the man, but one warning glance from me told him to stay his ground. He gritted his teeth. I could see that it was all he could do to not do something. I think he knew, though, that this was a man whom he would be powerless against. How could he? There was a darkness emanating from him that would cause even the strongest to cower, and Naruto was no exception to this rule.

Itachi ignored him, much to my relief, and not much to my relief moved closer to me, and bending down so we were on eye level. I leaned backwards, instinctively trying to get as far away as I could, but the wall restricted me. Even though I wasn't moving, I felt like I was moving backwards, my whole sense of balance was thrown off somehow. It was like I was suddenly thrown into a world in which I didn't know left from right, or distinguish between up and down.

Our eyes met.

I felt an overpowering sense of dominance coming from him. It wasn't unfamiliar, I've felt it before, from Sasuke. This sense of pressure, _pure _power, and a hunger for control was what I felt from Sasuke, but this… this was different. Although on the outside Itachi was as calm as a sea on a day with no wind, there was turmoil in this pressure, a turmoil that had only just started to boil with Sasuke. I shuddered. He lifted his hand, bringing it so close to my face that his fingers grazed my cheek. My eyelashes started to flutter from fatigue, and everything turned black except for Itachi. _Is this genjutsu?_ I wondered, dimly. "I need you to come with us." He said, his voice oddly harsh and yet smooth and almost kind at the same time. It was so confusing to my hazy mind, that I all I could do was focus on the words he was saying. He paused, "I see… no wonder I was unable to recognize your chakra… that seal... is the work of _his_ no doubt…" His steady gaze faltered for a moment, as he took my own appearance in. "You…" he said. "Yes, I see now why Leader is so interested in having you… you have a… striking resemblance to _that _person...that man…"

_What_ person? I thought. What are they talking about? _What_ man?

"What do you want with me?" I said, and my eyes widened in shock. My voice seemed completely normal, and yet something didn't seem right. I didn't open my mouth at all, it was like Itachi was in my mind. That was probably it, I thought. "I know what you want with Naruto, you want the nine-tails fox, but why me?" What makes me so special?

"You honestly don't know?" he said, coolly, "Well, our information was correct, you are oblivious."

My eyes widened, "Your information? To what?" I blinked, "Is it because of my… knowledge?"

There was a pause, and then he said, "No. We want…" his hand rested on my chest, so softly and sensually that it made my breath hitch, "We need something else from you."

I gritted my teeth. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I said, "You can't have it, no matter what you say or do, I'm not going with you—"

His finger shot out and hit my forehead, digging into the flesh and splitting my skull open. I screamed in pain as I felt the blood rush down my face. "So pitiful," he said, straightening, "To be so effected by the unreality." I stared at him through my blood streaked vision, wondering blindly why I wasn't dead. "You _will_ come to us that I can assure you. When that is, I do not know, but come, you _will."_

He stopped moving for a moment. I grasped my forehead, trying to find the injury that moments ago nearly killed me, but found nothing there, just remnants of pain. "You…" he said, "Seem to have become close to _him._ I will give you the truth," his hand reaching out. I looked up at him to see his eyes change into a more sinister and evil form… the mangekyo sharingan. Everything disappeared…

…except for what I saw next… the vision he gave me…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

In reality, it was only a second. One moment Itachi was speaking with Grace, the next, she slumped, her head to her chest, seemingly fast asleep, and Itachi was standing, carrying her in her arms. He handed her to Kisame, who took her not so gently and held her. He seemed quizzical by the carefulness that Itachi handled her, as if she were a doll that might break. _There's something more going on than I know about… _

"So…" Kisame said, "What did you find out?"

"She is oblivious." He said, closing his eyes, "It is just as Leader said it would be."

"Damn…" Kisame muttered, "What a pain in the neck."

"This might turn out in our favor," Itachi said, "We can manipulate her this way."

Kisame grinned evilly, "You are a whole other kind of evil, Itachi." He blinked and looked up the hall, noticing mere seconds after Itachi that there was someone else here.

Itachi turned to face the hall, "It's been some time… Sasuke…"

Naruto turned in surprise to see his friend, panting at the end of the hall. "Sasuke!" he said.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his focus going from Itachi to Grace, resting there in an angry moment, then returning to Itachi. "Itachi Uchiha…" he said, his voice dangerously low. His eyes fluttered back to Grace. A drop of blood, too small and far away for the average person to see, but to him it stood out like a beacon, rested at the corner of her mouth, precariously choosing the perfect moment to roll down her chin. He could see that he injuries were not serious, a bruised neck that could easily be healed was the extent of her injuries. It wasn't the physical injuries that caused his blood to boil. It was the state in which she was now. He was accustomed with genjutsu enough that he could distinguish, even from a distance, the distance between sleep and hypnosis. _She_ was not asleep. There was not calm in her relaxed position, no life. It was as if she was a doll, her strings forgotten, slumped at the back of the theater.

And he knew who had done this to her.

Kisame chuckled, throwing the girl over his shoulder. There was an inhuman gag that came from her throat, but it was a reflex to pain, no emotion. "This is a special day indeed… This is the second time I've seen another sharingan."

Sasuke's glare permanently bored into Itachi. "I…" he said, his voice unnaturally calm for the turmoil inside, "I… will kill you!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Sakura shook her head slightly, taking a step, nearly stumbling, then laughing at herself. She was so unused to being tall it was freaky. Tenten gazed up at the only slightly taller girl. "This is so weird." She giggled.

Sakura giggled too, then stopped at the sound of her voice, then giggled again. "It _is_ weird," She agreed, "Now I know how Grace sees us! It must be weird for her to be taller than everyone."

"Yeah," Tenten said, "I mean, she's even taller than Sasuke!"

"_That's_ got to be awkward, especially for Sasuke!" Sakura nodded to herself, "Yup, let's hope he get's a growth spurt."

"Wouldn't it…" Tenten giggled, leaning against her companion for support, "Wouldn't it be funny if he never grew taller than her?"

Sakura burst out laughing, "I think that would piss him off!"

"What on Earth are you two talking about?" came a cold voice behind them.

The two girls halted, frozen, and then slowly turned to see an old woman come up stiffly behind them. It was the advisor, a woman who was notorious in the village for having the coldest shoulder and most bitter mind in the whole Fire Nation.

"Eh…" Sakura said, rubbing her head, "We were just… talking?"

"Must I remind you that this is a very important mission? Of course…" she said, muttering to herself, "Perhaps I should not have asked a _Genin_ to do this…" Sakura's eye twitched. "But I thought that since you knew Grace the best you would be able to imitate her without causing suspicion. And _yet_, here you are, fooling around." She raised a cold eyebrow, "What explanation do you two have for yourselves?"

"I beg your pardon, ma'am," Tenten said, bowing respectfully, "But we aren't exactly fooling around. This is how Lady Grace acts, most of the time. It would be unnatural for her to act… serious." _Although lately, _Tenten thought, _she's been acting somewhat distant…_

"I understand that," the woman sniffed, "That girl has a knack for the…" she frowned, emphasizing her point. "Regardless, I want you to take this more seriously."

The two girls nodded solemnly.

"Very well," The woman said, "Now that I've cleared this up—"

"My Lady!" An ANBU said, appearing beside her. "I have an urgent message from Might Guy."

The woman's eyes widened, "What is it?" She asked sharply. _At this time…_ she thought, _what on Earth could it be?_

"We have reports that Itachi Uchiha is intending to kidnap Lady Grace and Naruto Uzukami." The man began.

"_What?_" The woman said, taking a step backwards. Her eyes narrowed. _Itachi Uchiha…_ _What are his motives?_ _This is bad… I __**knew**__ that it was too dangerous to send Lady Grace out of this village! _She gritted her teeth. "We need to send reinforcements immediately! Send Might Guy as well as Kakashi Hatake to aid Jiraiya. Also order them to retrieve Lady Grace…" _It will complicate the mission… but at this moment in time… her safety is more important than that._

"I'm afraid I cannot do that," the ninja apologized, "Kakashi Hatake is momentarily hospitalized; he will be immobile for a week at least, perhaps more."

"_What?!_" the woman said. She closed her eyes slowly. What was this village coming to? "Very well," she concluded, "Send Might Guy. I believe, along with Jiraiya, that shall be enough." She turned to look at him for a moment, "No… don't send Guy. Send ANBU squad 15's Captain."

The man, his face hidden behind the mask, moved slightly in surprise, "_Him_?" he asked, "Are you sure that is wise?"

"Of course," she sniffed, "It will be a chance for him to redeem himself." She gave him a sharp look, "Relay the message."

He nodded and disappeared.

"What was that about?" Sakura asked.

"It appears your own mission will be cut short." She said, turning to face the two young girls. "Lady Grace will be returning shortly."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto's eyes widened. Itachi _Uchiha_? This man… is he related to Sasuke in some way?

Naruto thought back to the times when Sasuke would mention something about killing someone, and his brother and clan. Could this man be at the center of all this? And what does this have to do with him? And what does it have to do with Grace? He glanced at her. Her long hair was hanging down, making her look like a sleeping beauty that a girl in pain. Her face was oddly calm, as if she were having a pleasant dream, and yet there was no emotion of happiness or content in her body. It was as if she were frozen, void of everything. He skin too, had an eerie bluish glow, and for a moment, Naruto feared that she was dead.

He had gathered enough information to understand that these people, however violent and mysterious as they may be, would not cause her serious pain or injuries. He caught on to _that_ at the very least.

And so he turned his attention instead towards Sasuke. He could tell that there was something wrong with him. A hate, a hate that he didn't recognize, that, or it had never surfaced enough for him to be able to recognize it, but now it was so strong that he could feel it from where he stood, down the hall from him. A hate towards the man who was his brother…

_What's going on?_ He asked. _I don't get it. If Itachi is Sasuke's older brother… why is there this murderous intent from Sasuke?  
_

Sasuke grabbed his wrist with his other hand, concentrating his chakra. It began as a chipper of birds, but then grew and exploded in flashes of blue and silver as the chidori grew. It lit up his face in such an eerie and ghost-like. An animal-like howl erupted from his throat, and he charged, tearing up everything in his path, as he headed towards the taller, older version of himself.

Kisame threw Grace towards Naruto, and Naruto was barely able to grab her and duck out of the way, his back against the wall. Kisame ducked to the other side, to protect himself from the shatter of excess electricity. Naruto turned slightly to shield Grace, who had not yet awoken, and continued to sleep, even through all of this noise and excitement.

But it ended so fast, Naruto didn't even remember when it had begun. All of a sudden Sasuke had stopped moving, and his wrist was bound by Itachi's own hand, the chidori splintered into nonexistence. The hall in which all this place was entirely destroyed, completely, and Naruto felt lucky that he and Grace weren't hurt, let alone alive. _I've got to do something!_ Naruto thought.

Sasuke glared at Itachi, his hate showing once again through those blood red eyes.

_I've got to make sure Grace survives! _He thought again, setting her down gently and standing above her, forming the most basic of seals and gathering his chakra.

Both Itachi and Kisame turns toward the blond in surprise, neither expecting such powerful chakra to be used by him. Even Grace's eyes opened slightly, as if wakened by it.

"You bastard!" Sasuke said, glaring at Itachi. He tried to free his hand from Itachi's stone grip, his eyes narrowing.

"You're in the way." Itachi said shortly and unemotionally. He squeezed Sasuke's arm so tightly that the bone crunch inwards, enclosing on itself so that when Itachi released Sasuke's arm, where his hand had been was twice as small as the rest of his arm. There were markings, like stripes, from where Itachi's hand had been, ironically mirroring those on Grace's neck.

Itachi then reached down and grabbed Sasuke by the neck throwing him through the air and down the hall and causing him to slam against the back wall, so hard and violently that one could hear his skull making contact with the wall, as well as his body literally bounce off of it.

Naruto covered his ears to block out the noise that came out of Sasuke then, and even Grace whimpered slightly in her half-awake state of mind. _Damn it!_ Naruto thought, _I have to make sure Sasuke doesn't get more hurt too!_

"Too late!" Kisame laughed, slicing the air near Naruto with his sword.

Naruto opened his eyes in shock. _What's going on?_ He asked himself, _Why can't I feel my chakra?_

"Sorry kid," Kisame said, grinning, "You see, my sword… _eats_ chakra."

Naruto's eyes widened. _Eats chakra?_He asked in him mind. _Is such a thing possible?_

Kisame's grin widened. "Now that you're jutsu is gone… dealing with you will be no trouble…" he swung his large sword back behind his head, "Perhaps I'll take off a leg or two of yours," he said.

"Wait…"

Kisame eyes widened and even Itachi turned his head at the sound of her voice.

"Grace!" Naruto said, as Grace weakly pushed him behind her. "Grace what are you doing?"

"Please don't hurt him," Grace said, her voice, eyes, and face, everything about her screaming fatigue. She looked exhausted, as if holding onto life. She reached one head towards Kisame, as if that would keep him away. "Please, I'll do anything, but please don't take Naruto away… please don't hurt him…"

She didn't see Sasuke yet.

But he saw her.

"My, my," Kisame chuckled, "You suddenly become Little Miss Brave when you're little friend is in trouble, eh?"

Grace stumbled a little, then stood up straighter, "Take me if you want, but I can't let you take Naruto."

"Grace!" Naruto yelled, "Stop this! Get behind me!"

Itachi glanced from his brother to Grace, to Naruto, to Grace again. "I see…" he said, "Naruto… is precious to you, isn't he?"

Sasuke, from down the hall, weakly clenched his fists, then his strength grew till the palm of his hand bled.

Grace didn't answer. But her eyes confirmed this. The _most_ precious, her eyes said.

Kisame grinned again, "Well, I'll gladly take you up on that offer, but I'm afraid that I can't just leave the boy here. I'm gonna' take both of you…" he exhaled softly. "Perhaps," he said, "Perhaps I should take a few limbs off of you to keep you from running off?"

Grace flinched as he swung her sword, the swooshing sound it made through the air too loud and terrifying for her to heard Sasuke call out her name, nor see him attempt to pull himself up.

Kisame's shoulder muscles shuddered as his sword slammed into something solid. Not only that, but there was a giant toad standing between Grace and Kisame. Grace, from the impact and shock of the toad appearing, stumbled backwards into Naruto's arms.

"Grace!" Naruto exclaimed as he felt her form slump into his arms. He quickly peered at her face and noticed with no great surprise that she was asleep. No, not asleep, she must have fainted. Under any normal circumstances, this would have been exceedingly amusing, and a great opportunity to tease her… but now? _Now_, he thought, _The only thing I'm surprised about is the fact that she woke up to begin with. _

"You don't seem to know very much about me… it appears." A confident voice said from behind Naruto and Grace. "I'm better at getting girls then they are at trying to get me. Even though it doesn't look like it… it's my specialty…" he grinned professionally.

"The Pervert Sage!" Naruto exclaimed, leaning backwards so he could look up at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya ignored him, "I, Jiraiya, the epitome, the essence, of manliness! I will fall for NO female wiles! When you become a man like me," he said, "All you'll have to do is flash that sexiness and woman will fall at your feet!"

…silence…

"YEAH RIGHT!" Naruto yelled, pointing at him with an accusing finger after setting Grace gently on the ground. "YOU SAW THAT GIRL AND RAN OFF AFTER HER! AND NOW YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO LOOK ALL COOL AND CLASSY—YOU PERVERT!"

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU **NOT** TO CALL ME THAT IN FRONT OF OTHERS?" Jiraiya shrieked back at him.

"Screw that!" Naruto yelled, "It's the guys over there that you should be worrying about!"

Jiraiya glanced down at Grace. _This is bad…_ he thought, _She apparently was under some sort of genjutsu… although how she was able to wake up, for however short it may have been, is beyond me…_ he glanced at Naruto. _No… it's not surprising. _

"Heheh..." Kisame chuckled, "One of the Legendary Three Ninjas, huh? We knew you were fond of woman… but we weren't expecting you to get stalled _that_ easily!"

"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed, "You guys know Pervy's Sage's real identity?"

"Er… Not really," Jiraiya muttered, "I wouldn't call that a _real_ identity…"

"In any case," Kisame said, "It looks like you've undone the genjustu placed upon that woman."

"What a low trick," Jiraiya said, calmly, as he placed the woman next to Grace against the wall. "To cast a genjutsu on a woman just to draw me away… not a very manly way of doing things…"

_Draw him away?_ Naruto thought, _Why would they…_

"So it's true…" Jiraiya said, "I had suspicions, but now I know. You two are after Naruto and Grace…"

No one answered. "So you were the one who leaked the information to Kakashi. Do capture and retrieve Naruto Uzumaki and Grace Sarutobi… those were our orders. I'm sure you understand our motives for the boy… but I'm sure you are curious about the girl." He said.

"Don't take me for a fool," Jiraiya said, "You think I didn't know? Who do you think put the God damn seal on her? You think I did it for fun? I know exactly why you want her."

_What is he talking about?_ Sasuke thought, pushing himself up.

"And I'm afraid that whatever you're planning on doing next," Jiraiya said, "Will fail."

"And why is that?" Itachi asked, coolly.

"Because right now… right here…" Jiraiya said, "I'm going to kill you."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_To be continued…_

There, I was kind and didn't do a cliff hanger. The next chapter will hopefully be updated before next weekend, but I may decide to upload another Beach Arc chapter this week, in which that may delay Chapter 44 by a day or two, so please be patient.

Again, I apologize if this chapter doesn't make much sense… getting Itachi's personality right was really hard… -.-' I had more trouble with it than any other character… so tell me how it was so I can improve it later…

Again, reviews are always welcome!

Thank you for reading,

fUnKyToEs


	45. Bonus Arc: The Beach: Part Two

TITLE: Truthspeaker Bonus Arc: The Beach

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: Truthspeaker Bonus Arc: The Beach: Part II

WORDS: 3, 542 words

DISCLAIMER: I don't own.

BEFOREWORD: Sorry this is late… anyway, this chapter may be confusing because there are many different POV's, not just Grace, and it doesn't always say who's POV is, but it's obvious if you think about it, so don't worry, if you pay attention it shouldn't be hard. Also, when the POV's take place may vary, so keeping track of what goes on may also be difficult if you don't pay attention, but as I said, it's pretty obvious who's speaking. Oh, and just to warn you, this chapter isn't supposed to make much sense plot wise. For two reasons: One, this is completely separate from the plot. It has NOTHING to do with Truthspeaker. The other reason is because this chapter… just doesn't accomplish anything. This chapter is merely… fan service! You heard it, FAN SERVICE. You will see why…

Enjoy!

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I didn't even look at back at Ino as I pulled Sasuke towards the bonfire. Sasuke, obviously confused by the whole matter, kept looking back at me with a quizzical expression. He finally, right before we reached the circle of people that crowded (Choji being the majority) around the bonfire, getting ready to eat their lunch, pulled himself out of my grip and walked beside me, not complaining when I grabbed his hand again and kept walking.

"What was that all about?" he asked me.

"Nothing that concerns you," I replied. Well, _that_ was a lie if I ever told one. Sasuke not involved? Sasuke was the _reason_ for the whole matter. "Well," I said, "You don't have to worry about it at least." That too, I knew, was a lie. Him not worry about it? That's like saying, 'Oh Sasuke, just to tell you, Ino and I are having a battle over you, but you can just sit back and not worry, and _sure_ you won't be caught in the crossfire.' "Yeah.." I said, halting when we reached the bonfire, "You might have a reason to worry…"

"YUM!" Choji yelled as Ryuichi flipped the meat. It was weird, not like hamburgers or hotdogs but the equivalent, I suppose. A barbecue, which obviously make Choji happy. Ryuichi was not so happy about his position as chef. Not that he didn't like cooking, but because he had a very annoying sous chef that wouldn't leave him alone, or more, that wouldn't stop eating the food before Ryuichi even had a chance to put it on plates for anyone else to eat.

"What a pain," Shikamaru said, who happened to be standing right next to me. "Looks like _none_ of _us_ are going to eat… shouldn't have come…"

"Thanks," I said, sarcastically. "Choji!" I called out. The boy turned around, his face stuffed with food. Literally, he looked like a chipmunk, or a hamster, that has packed all the food their stretchable cheeks can hold. It was really amusing, and it was all I could do to keep myself from laughing, which probably would have been the last thing I'd ever do.

"Fwap?" He asked.

"Let some other people have some food too!" I said, "There's plenty of it, it won't run out!"

He swallowed, "Well, if there's plenty of it, then there should be more for everyone else after _I_ eat!"

"You forget," I said, narrowing my eyes, "That as the organizer for this event, that automatically places me at the same rank as the manager, the _person who runs the restaurant_. As the manager, if a customer is displaying _improper_ eating etiquette, I have the right to keep that person from even entering and eating in my restaurant again."

I believe it was then that Choji developed a whole new understanding and respect for me. My authority over food was what made him realize that I was both incredible and deadly. Shikamaru also noticed this, turning to me with a bored and somewhat annoyed expression.

"You just made either the best ally or the worst enemy," he informed me, nonchalantly.

I sighed. He was right. This could easily backfire on me. Regardless of that fate, however, what mattered was now _everyone_ can eat, and Ryuichi was the most thankful.

Shikamaru didn't look away from me. Instead, his eyes shifted downwards. At first, I started getting this itchy feeling at the back of my spine, because the idea of _Shikamaru_ taking the time to look me up was somewhat disturbing. What was he looking at? He seemed amused, but not sensual, which was also confusing, because why would he be looking down… if… then I realized that he wasn't looking at _me_, but to the _side_ of me.

It was _then_ that I realized that I had yet to let go of Sasuke's hand. I let go of it like it was on fire, and to tell you the truth, Sasuke's face looked like there was flames flickering just below the surface. Crap… I made him mad! I ran up here, holding his hand, in front of everyone! He must be so embarrassed and angry with me!

"I, uh," I said, "I didn't mean to…"

What was so weird was the fact that I didn't even _know_ that I was still holding his hand. It felt so natural and… _normal_ that it just slipped my mind…what is this world coming to?!

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There are people in this world who are retarded, like Naruto. Then there are people in this world who ignore and act stupid, like everyone else. And then, every once in a while, you'll find those _really_ annoying people who are just plain ignorant.

Grace was one of those people.

It was almost amusing, because it was so obvious what was going through her mind, not to mention Sasuke's.

It was… ironic.

Most people here could probably tell, but no one says anything. _I_ know, because it's so obvious. It's like playing shoji when your opponent says the move he's going to make right before your turn.

The _right_ thing to do is to _do_ something.

But hey, why do that when I could take a nap?

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I didn't know what to do. I was so embarrassed; it wasn't even worth standing there. "I'm going to go for a swim!" I said, turning around and heading for the water. I need to cool down. When I reached the part of the beach where the shoreline was, where it went from dry sand to wet sand, still damp from the high tide… wait, high tide? Do lakes have tides? I thought that in order for a lake to have a really high tide… it had to be big enough for enough water to be pulled by the moon… Perhaps… a month ago we _did_ have a raining spell, and now we're in a dry spell… maybe it's from then… regardless, it could have been from a storm or large wave… but then again, this is a _lake_. Lakes don't _have_ big waves.

I walked over to the water's edge. There were barely any waves. The water looked flat, except for some small ripples caused by splashing people quite a few yards away. I dipped my toe in, and shuddered at the thick feeling of the water. I'm not used to this water. Water, natural water, not baths or showers or other, water out in nature, that I'm used to, consists of beaches in the truest nature. Sure, they have a thicker substance than bath water, but they are still clear and fresh. Lakes and ponds are _thick_. They are filled with bacteria and life, crammed into a small area. Granted, this lake was _huge_, so it wasn't bad, but I always forget how _different_ lakes feel.

It was also warm. Ocean water is cold, and the first dive kills, but this… this was warm. Not too warm, but warm enough that it didn't hurt walking to just below my waist. I sighed. This was sooooo nice! It's going to be so much fun!

I looked farther ahead, and realized to my shock that further down the lake there _were_ waves. Not mega, obviously, not in the least, but enough that… "So _that's_ why Ryuichi said we should bring the boat…" I was wondering before when he suggested it because you don't usually think of sailing on a lake, but this lake was big enough that it will work! That will be—"AAH!" I screamed as I felt something slam into my back, pushing me forward and forcing me to fall under the surface. A bubble of air escaped my mouth, but luckily I have experience with this so it didn't bother me. I kicked the leg of whomever it was that was keeping me under, and they retreated rather quickly.

I gasped when I surfaced again. "What was that for!" I shrieked.

The bashful faces that were on Kiba and Naruto's faces were so cute and innocent that I felt sorry for them, instead of angry. They shrugged and smiled that cute little boy smile. For a moment I forgot that they were just two years younger than me. "We're playing endless tag."

"Tag?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted happily and excitedly, "We're playing the 'who can get to Grace and capture her fastest'!"

I narrowed my eyes, "That's not very nice," I said, "Did you ever think about what _I_ might think of the game?"

The two boys turned and looked at each other with curious expressions. Then they looked at me in unison. "Nope." They said, once again in unison.

I sighed. I thought that was it.

"You know," Kiba said, turning more serious all of a sudden, and yet even more immature at the same time, "You look really hot in that."

I blushed. "Well," I said, "I _is_ a bikini…" I blinked, then blushed, "I mean… _it_ is a bikini…" Wow, so embarrassing… I can't believe how flustered I just became!

"I still think she should have worn what _I_ picked out." Naruto sniffed. It's not fair that you only chose to wear what _Sakura_ picked out for you…"

"That's because Sakura at least picked something out that was _somewhat_ appropriate! Unlike you… use your head for once. Do you really think I'd wear a thong? And whatever consisted of the top was _not_, trust me, _not_ enough for me."

"A _thong_?" Kiba said, a perverted look crossing his face, "_Not enough?_" he echoed. His eyes trailed down to my exposed front. "What I'd give to see _that—_"

I smacked him over the head. "You little pervert!" I shouted. But, he's not little. I always think of Naruto as being the same age as Konohamaru, but both Kiba and Naruto are fourteen… or almost fourteen. Plus Kiba was just a few inches shorter than me. Taller than Sasuke even, maybe. Not as tall as Shino, but still, up there.

I turned around and waded deeper, attempting, if possible, to get away from them.

But to no avail… it appears that there is no limits to this game…

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At first, I thought that she was just making an idiot of herself. It's something she would do. Although it was somewhat… flattering to hear her call for me in such a desperate way, I knew that she wasn't in real danger. I knew she was a good swimmer, at least, good enough that no real danger should fall upon her while at a _lake_. And so I ignored her. It wasn't until her calls became more consistent and desperate that I bothered to look behind me towards the water.

What I saw made me crush the can I was holding with such ferocity that it completely collapsed into itself.

"Easy there," the lazy ass, Shikamaru muttered.

I threw the crushed down onto the ground, ignoring Tenten's comment about littering, and walked down the beach towards the water. I didn't even bother getting in, I just walked on the water towards them. What did I see? Those bastards Kiba and Naruto _harassing_ my—Grace. Kiba noticed me first. Then Grace, who immediately reached out to me, saw me. Naruto didn't seem to notice me till I was right upon him. Kiba, after seeing me, smirked and then grabbed Grace from behind, his hand too close to her… for it to be innocent. It wasn't just that that caused to me to act. It was Grace's horrified and traumatized expression that caused to me to seek the blood of the one responsible.

Kiba yelped as fire appeared on his hands. His hands automatically flew off of Grace, and he stuck then in the water, cursing under his breath.

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It pissed me off, that's for sure. Who the hell sets someone on fire while they're in the _water_? The pain wasn't even what pissed me off; it was the manner in which he did it. It was like I was being _punished_ for playing around with Grace. Like Grace was serious when she was calling for Sasuke, it was a _joke_. But nothing was a joke with this guy. It was like he _owned_ Grace.

Grace reached up for him, and he grabbed her hand and pulled her up, giving me an excellent view of her ass, which, I might add, looked really sexy in those black bikini bottoms.

I grinned. Payback time… Right as she was being pulled out of the water I quickly grabbed one of the strings of her bikini top, the one right at the base of her neck, and pulled…

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I was happy when I wasn't burned. Poor Kiba though… it's apparent that Sasuke took this a little too seriously. Regardless, I was thankful that he arrived. I reached up for him. He automatically reached down and grabbed my hand. He was dry, which surprised me. He didn't look wet at all, except for the soles of his feet, which hovered right on the surface of the water. The only problem was that I can't walk on water.

But that wasn't the only problem, and by far not the worst. When Sasuke grabbed my hand and began to pull me out of the water, someone, by the heat of the hands I assumed it was Kiba, grabbed on the draw stings at the back of my neck and pulled it. Why was this an important unfortunate happening? Because that string was what was keeping my top _on_ me versus… falling _off me. _

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I reached down and took her hand. Because I knew that she couldn't walk on water, and to keep from dislocating her arm, when I drew her out of the water I had to hold her close to my chest. From there, I could switch her position to something more comfortable.

I noticed her face first. It was one of shock, and total mortification. It was a dawning mortification, like she didn't realize what was going on till it was too late.

I didn't realize what was going on till it was too late.

I didn't even have time to react. As soon as I realized what that bastard did to Grace I pulled her up at even faster to block anyone else's view.

I didn't think that through.

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I was relieved when Sasuke held me close to him, because, since I no longer had a top on, it meant that no one saw. But then, when I realized that _he_ wasn't wearing a shirt and that_ I_ wasn't wearing anything, that we were _both_ topless and rather close to each other, in fact, as close as you can probably get, that I realized how awkward it was. I also noticed that both Kiba and Naruto _and_ Sasuke had rather amusing reactions.

Kiba acted like a child who tried to play a prank on someone but it backfired. He looked… pretty angry. Although why, I don't know, since _he_ was the one who did it to me in the first place.

Naruto had a pleased expression on his face… I _don't_ want to know why.

Sasuke, however, didn't seem to notice the other two. He was completely frozen in place. I was worried that he'd forget that he was standing on water and we'd fall through, although when I think about it that would probably be the best thing to do. "Sasuke…" I whispered, trying to get his attention without startling him. "…Sasuke…"

"I don't think you're helping…" Naruto muttered, grinning all the while.

It was then that I noticed that Sasuke was bleeding.

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Kiba is a GENIUS!

Untying Grace's bra strap for her bikini was the smartest thing the dog freak could have ever done! I was standing here and it was like WOAH!

Not that it was anything I haven't seen before—I'm not boasting but I'm seen a fair—

But luckily Kiba couldn't see it, or _them_, I should say. The only one that had the best view was Sasuke. Like I said—GENIUS!

You should have seen Sasuke's face. You could _see_ the thoughts running through his head. And let me tell YOU they are PERVERTED! Sasuke could probably join Jiraiya's perverted club with those thoughts! Heh… this is the best…

And to make it better, Sasuke had the idea to hold Grace to him—I have no idea why but it looked like the two were _doing_ it if you know what I mean. That's another thought that was probably going through his head.

And then—the BEST part of all—was that Grace started to _moan_ Sasuke's name. Don't know whether she meant to or not—she could have just been trying to get his attention… but _moaning_ was how it sounded to us men. To Sasuke…

Well, let's just say that Iruka-sensei isn't the only one who gets nosebleeds!

BELIEVE IT!

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It started off slow, like a small dribble. At first I didn't even notice that he was bleeding, until I looked up and saw it drip out of his nose.

"You're bleeding!" I said, dumbly.

Then my natural instinct jumped in and I started to freak out. "Sasuke!" I cried out, repositioning my hands to his shoulders and shaking him, trying to wake him out of this weird trance he was in. He was even starting to slip under the water a bit. "Sasuke—get up!"

"No need to worry about _that_," Kiba chuckled.

The nose bleed was getting worse. It was starting to go on _me._ Where the hell is all this blood coming from? And why for heavens sake is he even _having_ a nose bleed?

I glared in Kiba's direction. I hugged Sasuke harder, and shook him again. "Wake up!" I yelled.

Naruto smiled evilly. "Oh," he said, "I think Little Sasuke has—"

"Shut up!" I yelled at him.

Then Sasuke and I slipped under the water.

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Once the cold water hit me I opened my eyes and kicked the floor of the lake, shooting myself upwards and out of the water. I took a deep breath, and then proceeded to look around to see where Grace was.

"So you're back," Kiba said, "How was you're little trip?"

I glared in his direction.

"Just find it!" Grace ordered Naruto, who was currently helping her fish around for her bikini top.

"I can't see it—the water's too dirty," Naruto complained.

"The correct term is 'murky' you two faced idiot!"

Naruto paused as he considered this image. He made a face then continued to search the murky water.

Grace was searching with one arm and with the other she covered her chest… not very well. I waded over to them and began searching as well.

"We'll never find it," Naruto complained again.

Grace grumbled and moved a little farther away from me.

Her back was turned to me and it was so smooth and perfect that—I must clear my head of these thoughts.

Grace yelped as Kiba jumped on her back. "Give me a piggy back ride!" he laughed, turning his head to smirk at me. I gritted my teeth.

This piece of shit is really asking to die…

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_To be continued…_

Well now you all know how perverted my mind can get (Actually, technically it's Naruto and Kiba who are perverted… I was just following their personalities! *excuses*) … I've wanted to write this scenario so badly and finally there's an opportunity! Just to let you know, this bonus arc will consist of random scenarios that would never fit into the actual story but are too good/funny/ironic/hysterical/perverted to pass up, so if you guys have any good ideas for something I could stick into one of these chapters, don't hesitate to leave a review and tell me about it, because hey, I might even add it!

Thanks for reading!

Truthspeaker chapter 44 should come out by this Friday.

P.S. Go to my profile to see a special treat that I've cooked up for you! ~.^

fUnKyToEs


	46. Bonus Arc: The Beach: Part Three

TITLE: Truthspeaker: Bonus Arc: The Beach

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Beach: Part III

WORDS: 4, 785 words

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto…

WARNINGS: Fluff and… some material might not be appropriate for children… _might_ not be.

BEFORE WORD: Ok, sorry this is late… late week was finals and this Monday a camp I work at I starting. I'm the Arts Coordinator so I've been buried in supplies and prepping, which combined with finals is hell… not to mention I've been having internet problems. Ok, so, anyway, I managed to get this chapter done, and now that the prepping for the camp is done I can get to work on the next 'plot' chapter. Sorry it's been so long since I've updated the actual storyline chapters. Anyway, enjoy!

Oh, and I added a 'previously' thing, because with two plots (especially since I haven't updated in a while) it can get a little confusing what happened where and when and with which plot is the chapter in, so yeah. By the way, the 'previous' thing here is the last POV of the previous chapter, which happens to be 'Sasuke's, just so you don't get confused because when I was pasting it in here… I was like 'what the hell?'

ANYWAY,

Enjoy

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_**Previously… on Truthspeaker Bonus Arc…**_

_Once the cold water hit me I opened my eyes and kicked the floor of the lake, shooting myself upwards and out of the water. I took a deep breath, and then proceeded to look around to see where Grace was._

"_So you're back," Kiba said, "How was you're little trip?"_

_I glared in his direction._

"_Just find it!" Grace ordered Naruto, who was currently helping her fish around for her bikini top._

"_I can't see it—the water's too dirty," Naruto complained._

"_The correct term is 'murky' you two faced idiot!"_

_Naruto paused as he considered this image. He made a face then continued to search the murky water._

_Grace was searching with one arm and with the other she covered her chest… not very well. I waded over to them and began searching as well._

"_We'll never find it," Naruto complained again._

_Grace grumbled and moved a little farther away from me._

_Her back was turned to me and it was so smooth and perfect that—I must clear my head of these thoughts._

_Grace yelped as Kiba jumped on her back. "Give me a piggy back ride!" he laughed, turning his head to smirk at me. I gritted my teeth._

_This piece of shit is really asking to die…_

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"Get off!" I cried. Kiba chuckled. His hands were… placed somewhat… questionably on my chest. "That feels weird!" I shrieked when his hands slid down. He leaned downward, his mouth near my ear, "You know," he whispered seductively, "You have really nice—"

The force in which he was thrown off of me was almost painful. I yelled in fright and ducked under the water. I sunk to the floor of the lake, and put my hand down. I almost opened my eyes in surprise. My bikini top! I found it! I surface a little while later and gasped for air, then looked at the black piece of cloth, which, when wet, looked rather small. I can't believe I found it! What luck!

I heard violent noises a little ways away and turned around _very_ slowly. In the distance… I saw… "_Ouch_," I muttered, _that_ had got to hurt. I almost felt bad for Kiba—Sasuke wasn't going easy on him, but then I remembered how his hands felt on my—and I think he deserves it.

"Now if it had only been Sasuke who was doing that," Naruto said as he tied my bikini top back on, "That would be the best."

"You're perverted, you know that?"

"Yeah," Naruto chuckled, "But you know, I don't think you realize the _effect_ you have on Sasuke."

"Effect?" I asked. What was he talking about? "Unless," I said, "You mean about earlier… when my top…"

"That's exactly what I mean," Naruto chuckled evilly, "Now imagine if that were for _real_, now _that_ would be a sight to see…"

"Don't get any thoughts in your head," I snapped, "Like I'd ever let you _watch_ us—" I slapped my hand over my mouth, shocked at what had just come out of it.

Naruto's eyes widened and a stupid ecstatic smile spread over his face. He turned around and shouted, "Hey Sasuke! Grace wants to get naked—"

My mouth dropped open in shock and I bitch-slapped Naruto so hard he flew ten yards away from me.

"Hey!" Kiba said, appearing right next to me. Seriously, does the kid ever just give up? His hair looked a little crisped, and he had a black eye, courtesy of Sasuke Uchiha most likely. "Is that true?" he grinned, "Cause if Sasuke doesn't want to I'd be more than willing—"

"She won't be doing anything with you," Sasuke said, drawing me close to him. A weird feeling came over me, a sort of butterflies in my stomach kind of feeling.

"So you want to get _naked_ with Grace, huh?" Kiba asked, smirking.

There was a moment in which nothing happened. Then Sasuke's face turned so red that I thought there might be something wrong with him.

"I knew it!" Kiba cried out in a burst of hysterics, "Sasuke has the hots for Grace!"

I felt like my face was going to blow up, that was how hot and red it was. I haven't blushed like this in a really long time. "Don't say something so ridicules," I rebuked, "Sasuke doesn't have the… _hots_ for me you dope!"

"Oh I think he does," Kiba smirked, "I think you're just in denial."

"That's not true!" I cried.

"What's to be in denial of," Naruto asked, "Don't _you_ have the hots for Sasuke?"

Sasuke's face turned an even deeper shade of red. Crap, I thought, he's probably so embarrassed right now, he can't even stand to look at me! I've got to fix the situation or he'll never speak to me again! "Look," I said, "I. Don't. Like. Sasuke. He's nothing more than a _friend_. Nothing! Get that into your thick skulls! I don't, nor had, nor ever _will_ like Sasuke, ok?"

I grabbed Sasuke's hand and dragged him off towards the direction of the beach. I didn't even care that he was stiff as a board and I nearly had to drag him. His arm when limp in my grasp, and when I turned back to look at him he had a very… sad sort of look on his face. "What's the matter?" I asked, fearing the worst. He wasn't mad at me was he? I though I made it clear that I didn't want to do anything with him! What more do I have to do?

"Nothing." He said, and then he shook his head to clear the water from it. The way his hair sparkled and clung to his face was so… I mentally slapped myself.

Well, I can't help it that Sasuke is attractive. It's not _my_ fault that I'm a girl and susceptible to such things. Not to mention he looks attractive in everything he wears or does…

"Oh no," I said, "You're not upset about the bathing suit thing are you?"

"What?" he asked, looking up confused, "Upset?"

"Look," I said, "I didn't mean for that to happen—Kiba _untied_ it, I wasn't trying to do anything weird!"

He had an amused expression on, "I know," he said, "I know that, Grace." He glanced at each of my eyes, "You're not that kind of person," he said. "I'm just glad no one _else—_"

"YOU BASTARD!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in utmost exasperation as I was pushed away from him. They one now holding me was non other than… "Get off me!" I shrieked. "Lee—stop this!" Hell will freeze over before someone wearing a neon green Speedo can hold me. "Sasuke!" I screamed, reaching for him desperately.

He narrowed his eyes even farther, and the red of the sharingan made him look like some kind of demon. I have to say, the sharingan is going a little too far… but… "I knew that I couldn't trust you with my beloved!" Lee proclaimed loudly, "But I had no idea that you were such a perverted—to think that you would—" Tears of unbelief and angry were flowing from his eyes. Gross, it's getting me wet… gwegheh! "I now know why I made that challenge to you, you are the last person meant for Grace!"

What's with these boys? I wondered, especially Lee. He always makes Sasuke out to be… you know, 'wanting my _love_…', note, that was thought in a sarcastic tone. Lee is soooo insightful. He never gets anything, what a dumbass. I mean, I like Lee, he's a friend, albeit a little crazy, but when he gets like this… it's just…

The look on Sasuke's face was… really scary. I haven't seen Sasuke get this pissed for a long time. But why is he pissed? I mean, besides the fact I feel like Lee is harassing me.

"Lee," I said, "Put me down, I want to go… dry off before eating."

Lee bit his lip in worry, then set me down. I shuddered once I was a few feet away from him, then turned to Sasuke, "Let's go."

He nodded, his eyes shifted back to normal with a 'shff' and he began to follow me.

"Hold on one second!" Lee cried, "Why is this… leper going with you?"

"Ok," I said, "Look, this is getting out of hand. Lee, you want me to be happy, right?"

"…yes…" he said, his shoulders sagging.

"Well, to be happy, I need Sasuke."

"But—"

"—No buts," I interrupted. "I don't care if you and Sasuke have a rivalry, but for right now, All. I. Want. Is. Sasuke. Got it?"

"But—"

"Goodbye," I said, "I'll see you later."

"Bye…" Lee said, dejectedly.

For the millionth time that day I grabbed Sasuke's hand and we began walking towards the shore. It was weird. I always forget how much he's grown. He's still shorter than me, that just has to be expected, but now he's only a few inches shorter than me. Less than four, I think… maybe five… but still, that's a lot less than he _was_ a few months ago. "You're taller now," I said.

"Sure," he said. We reached the shore.

"You're going to be tall when you're finished growing."

"Probably," he said. He let go of my hand and we walked down the beach towards the fire.

"You're going to have a lot of girls after you."

"I don't really care about them." He said, "They're all annoying."

"Then what kind of girl _do_ you care about?" I asked, intrigued.

He turned to look at me for a moment, so long that I was about to ask if there was something on my face, and then he said, "I like…"

"Pretty girls," someone squealed as they… ahem… 'jumped' on Sasuke's back. Although to me it looked more like she was jumping out of an ally at him if you get my drift. I narrowed my eyes.

"What are you doing Ino?" I snapped.

"Sasuke likes pretty girls with _long_ hair," she said, "So that rules you out!"

I sighed, "And?" I said, "I don't really care you know, it's not like I _want_ Sauske to like me…"

"Then why were you asking?" Ino asked as she slid off of Sasuke. The poor boy was looking desperately and worriedly from me to her then back again.

"About what?" I asked.

"About what kind of girl he likes?"

"Maybe so I can help him find someone?" I snapped, "Look, it's really hard to find someone that Sauske _likes_ because I don't know what kind of girl he likes not to mention she has to be _kind_, and _gentle_, and good with children, and _willing_ to have a lot of children!" I snapped.

"_Well,_" Ino said, "I'm more than willing to help him rebuild the Uchiha clan!"

"You know," I snapped, "Rebuilding the Uchciha clan is a lot more than just _sex_, you _do_ realize you'll have to take care of all the children, right?"

"So?" Ino said, "I can do that—I'm not an impenitence. Besides, I'll get a nanny—ah, I know, I'll hire _you_."

"Hey!" I shouted, "I already offered to help with the child rearing but there's no way in hell I'll help with _your_ kids!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, "What if they're _not_ my kids?"

"You are making no sense at all!" I shouted, "The only way—oh my God!" I gasped, my hand clamped over my mouth, "Sasuke, you're going to get a harem aren't you!?"

"What?" Sasuke said, his face turning red, "NO!"

"You are aren't you?!" I said, horrified, "I can't believe you!" I cried, "You—you disgusting boy!" I turned around and stormed towards the food, leaving a horrified Sasuke with a quite devious looking Ino.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You think they had a fight?" I asked.

Sakura shook her head, "I don't think they would fight—not here at least. Grace probably got fed up with Ino."

"No," this time I shook my head, "No, if she got fed up with Ino she would have dragged Sasuke with her, not left Sasuke _with_ Ino."

Grace stormed up to us, a grim and angry expression set on her face. As she past us, she stated, "Sasuke is getting a harem." Then continued her march toward the bonfire.

I turned to Sakura, "What…" I said, "Was that all about?"

Sakura shrugged, "Let's go find out."

Finding Grace wasn't hard. She had a habit of being the center of attention, but not intentionally, more by lack of luck to tell you the truth. "Hey," I said, when Sakura and I reached her. She was standing in line, huffing and puffing, waiting for food, "What was that all about?"

"Oh, Tenten," she said, turning to me, she sighed, then flicked some hair out of her face, "Just… Sasuke…"

"What did he do now?" I asked.

"It's not what he _did_," I said, "It's what he _wants_ to do."

"Which is start a harem." Sakura concluded.

We glanced at each other then sighed. "Look, Grace," I said, "Who said that—Sasuke?"

She didn't respond, but pouted her lower lip. "…no…"

"Then who did?"

"… no one…"

"Then why did you say that?"

She looked away, a small blush appearing on her cheek, "I guess I just jumped to conclusions…"

I sighed again. Poor Sasuke… Everything he does gets misunderstood by Grace… and visa versa. "Ok," I said, "Does that mean he actually wants a harem—do you think Sasuke would _want_ a harem?"

"Well," she said, placing her hands on her hips, "Just think about it, I mean, how else is he going to make all those kids?"

"What kids?" Sakura asked, her voice muffled slightly from withheld laughter.

Grace closed her eyes, "All the kids he's going to have to have to rebuild the Uchiha clan," she said, in an exasperated tone, like it was obvious.

"Why not just volunteer yourself?"

Grace and I turned to stare at Sakura, who looked innocently at the two of us. Way to be blunt about it… I mean… seriously… that was inappropriate on… every level? "I can't believe you just said that," Grace said. "That's the last thing Sasuke wants."

"I wouldn't be so sure," I said. I mean, it was true, right?

"Trust me," Grace sniffed, "_I'm sure_." She waltzed off towards Ryuichi.

"I think the only reason Sasuke would ever want a harem," Sakura laughed, "Was to get over Grace."

"The dumb ass," I muttered, shaking my head, "Seriously, Sasuke is one poor sucker to be stuck liking someone as dimwitted as _she_ is."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Gross…" I muttered when Ryuichi dumped half a squid on my plate. "You know I hate squid, right?"

He blinked at me, "I know." He said, simply.

"Then why'd you give me one?" I yelled.

He shrugged, "Because… you… don't like it?"

I narrowed my eyes and sighed. "Fine." I muttered, dumping it back onto the grill, give me some _real_ food, please."

"You should really broaden your taste buds," he said, "What'll happen if you're eating at someone's house and they cook squid?"

"Then I'll pretend I'm a vegetarian," I said as I heaped some kind of meat on my plate.

"What happens if there's other meat there?"

I paused, "Why are you trying to think of _every_ scenario that will prove you right?"

There was a pause.

"So I can prove that I'm right?" Ryuichi said slowly.

I turned around and walked away from him.

"Grace!" Tenten yelled.

I turned towards her. She and Sakura were lying on their backs, on a towel, waving at me. I grinned and ran over to them. "Hey!" I said, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Sunbathing," Sakura said, "It's so nice here. We should come here more often. Still can't believe the Hokage gave us all the day off…"

"I think there was a decrease in missions this month," I said, "That's what he said—or was it…" I couldn't remember. "Mind if I sit down?"

"Why do you think we called you over?" Tenten said.

"Oh," I said, setting my plate down on the sand and sitting down on Tenten's stomach.

"Hey!" Tenten cried, "Not on _me_!"

I grinned, "Oh my God! I'm _sooo_ sorry! Didn't see you there!"

I hopped off of her and sat on the sand, and Tenten gave me a dejected look. "That hurt!" she muttered.

"I'm not _that_ heavy," I mumbled. Then I looked at the sun, "Do you guys know what time it is?"

"Nope." Tenten said.

"I think…" Sakura said, gazing at the sun through her fingers, "I think it may be… two o'clock? Maybe three? I'm not sure. Somewhere around there."

"I can't wait till later," I said.

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Because that's when the _fun_ stuff will happen," I said.

"Fun stuff?"

My eyes glinted, "Oh, _yes_, the fun stuff…"

"You're creeping me out," Tenten said, sitting up.

"You should be creeped out," I said, pointing my chop-sticks at her, "We'll be playing truth or dare!"

"Truth or dare!" Sakura said, sitting up, her eyes perking, "No way!"

"And…" I said, "We'll be—"

I heard shouting and turned towards the noise. Naruto was running towards me. Kiba and Akamaru were no where to be found. Speaking of Akamaru… I wonder why he wasn't in the water when Kiba was… "Oh my God I forgot to tell you," I said, "You won't _believe_ what happened to me while I was in the—"

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled as he approached us, "Tenten! You won't _BELIEVE_ what happened to Grace in the water! Her bikini top fell open! BELIEVE IT!"

Sakura and Tenten's mouths fell open.

"You idiot!" I yelled, "_I_ was supposed to tell them the story!"

"Huh? Oh, Grace," Naruto said, "Whoops, sorry."

I grumbled to myself, "You totally ruined it," I muttered.

"I don't care if it's ruined," Sakura said, "Tell me what happened!"

"I know," Tenten said, "This has sparked my interest!"

I sighed, "Ok, so I was in the water, and suddenly, I heard shouting and I turned around and there was Naruto and Kiba running towards me—"

"We were playing endless tag," Naruto grinned.

"Shut up," I snapped, "Ok, so Naruto and Kiba were running towards us—I mean me, and they kind of jumped on me and were trying to drag me under the water and stuff like that." I took a deep breath, "And so, I was yelling for Sasuke,"

"So _that's_ why you were yelling," Tenten said, "I was wondering what that was all about."

"Yup," I said, "So Sasuke came over and—"

"You should have seen him when he saw you and those boys," Tenten said.

"Hey," Naruto said, "I'm right here; you don't have to talk like I'm not here."

Tenten ignored him, "He looked sooo pissed, he was holding a can of soda and he crushed it completely!"

"Wow," I said, "I didn't realize he was that mad…"

"Well what do you _expect_?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know…" I said, "Maybe he's be upset?"

They glanced at each other and sighed. "You missed the point," Tenten muttered.

I ignored that interesting bit of information and continued, "So he was walking on the water and was reaching down to pull me up, and I grabbed his hand but when he was pulling me up, Kiba, who was standing above me grabbed the laces holding my top up and pulled it."

There was silence.

"So…" Sakura said, "You're top literally _fell_ off, right in front of Sasuke?"

"Yup." I said. "I was—"

"Sasuke had the best view of her boobs!" Naruto snorted, "It was so funny!"

Sakura and Tenten burst out laughing, "I can't believe that happened!" Tenten gasped between laughing fits, "That's so… so… hilarious!"

"Isn't it?" Naruto said, "You should have seen Sasuke's face—oh, Grace, you missed the best part!"

"What part—Wait, I missed it for a reason! I didn't want to talk about it!" I whined.

"What part?" Sakura said.

"Yeah, now that I know that you don't want to talk about it makes me want to her it even more!"

I whimpered as Naruto began.

"So," Naruto said, "When Sasuke was pulling Grace up out of the water, her bikini top fell off… but for some reason Sasuke didn't drop her he pulled her up faster…"

"Wait a second…" Tenten said, "Grace can't walk on water… so that means…" her eyes widened.

"No way!" Sakura said, "You're telling me—"

"They were skin to skin!" Naruto barked, "You should have seen Sasuke's face! And then the best part was he got a nosebleed—"

"You're kidding!" Tenten said, "Sasuke's a little pervert!"

"No he's not!" I cried, "He had a legit nose-bleed! It had nothing to do with me being topless and—" I stopped. Tenten… was kind of right, though… I mean, what happened next would probably make _any_ guy have a nosebleed…

"After he started getting a nosebleed Grace freaked and started shaking him." Naruto said, slowly.

There's was silence as Tenten and Sakura's minds worked out how this would appear.

I frowned when the both of them blushed.

"Yup," Naruto grinned, "It looked like Grace was—"

"Naruto, just shut up!" I said, "It isn't that big of a deal!"

But they were ignoring me again. "It _totally_ turned Sasuke on," Naruto chuckled, "You should have _seen_ his face! But then afterwards—"

"—I can tell this part," I said. "Afterwards, I was looking around for my top and Kiba jumped on my back… and… touched my…well, you get the idea. I think he was tying to get Sasuke mad—"

"Well, _duh_ that would piss him off," Tenten said.

"Jeez, Grace," Sakura said, "That's like…"

"Well," I said, "Moving on, Sasuke started to beat up Kiba, and I found my bikini-top and then Naruto helped me put it on, and then we were talking—"

"And Grace admitted to wanting to do it with Sasuke!" Naruto finished.

"That's not true!" I yelled, "You tricked me into saying that—and I didn't say that anyway!"

"It's so true," Naruto retorted, "Believe it!"

"I _don't_ believe it," I seethed, "And say that again and I'll slap you again."

Naruto flinched away from me.

"I just want to hear how Naruto convinced you to admit you wanted to have sex with Sasuke," Sakura said.

"You perverts," I muttered.

"Hey," Tenten said, "Wouldn't you be curious if one of us said we were tricked into saying we wanted to have sex with someone?"

"…yeah," I said. "I would be curious. Ok, so this is what happened. Naruto was saying how it looked like the two of us were… _you know_… and then he said he'd like to see that happen for _real_," I took another deep breath, "I and I said, 'Yeah right, like I'd ever let you watch us—' and then I realized what I had said and then _Naruto_, here, shouted that I wanted to have sex with Sasuke to Sasuke and there was a jumbled mess and I had to reassure Sasuke plenty of times that I _didn't_ want to have sex with him… and that's what happened."

They stared at me.

"So…" Tenten said, "It sounds like you really _did_ admit to want to—"

I stood up, frustrated, "I see you guys are going to take Naruto's side," I said, "Fine, I'm going for a walk." I began walking in a random direction, away from out little… cookout place thing.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Poor Sasuke," I said, turning to Tenten, "I mean, seriously, did she actually tell him to his face she didn't like him that way?"

"Yup," Naruto said, "Really, really… like, like…"

"Like _what_?" Tenten snapped.

"I don't know what the word is that I'm trying to use…" Naruto said, defectively.

"She said it really forcefully?" Tenten tried.

"Yeah," Naruto said, "And she kept repeating it."

"Poor Sasuke…" I sighed.

"Hey,"

Speak of the devil. We turned to look at Sasuke as he approached us. He seemed to have ditched Ino, because she wasn't with him. "Do you know where Grace went?" he asked.

I pointed in the direction that she left in. "We were just talking about you," I said.

He, in a very typical Sasuke way, paid us no heed and continued to walk after Grace.

"They're so different," Tenten said, once Sasuke was out of earshot.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I started to notice people on the beach. They were far away enough that I couldn't see them that well, and then I heard someone call my name, so I wasn't able to look to hard before I turned around to see Sasuke jogging up to me.

"What do you want?" I asked him.

He stopped a few feet away from me, "Why did you run off like that?" he asked.

"Sorry," I apologized, "I probably should have though more about the consequences of leaving you alone with Ino…"

"That's not what I'm talking about," Sasuke said, shaking his head, "What I'm talking about is why did you say that about… me, and then run off?"

"Oh, about the harem?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, "What made you think that?"

"I guess…" I said, "I guess I just got a little jealous."

"Jealous?" he blinked.

"Yeah," I said, "I don't know why, though."

He didn't answer, just looked at me kind of sadly, like he knew something I didn't.

"But, hey, I'm sorry and I didn't mean it—not anymore," I added, "Besides, it doesn't matter who you marry, I'll help with the kids," I winked.

There was a pause.

"I didn't mean it that way!" I shrieked, hysterically, waving my hands in front of me, "I didn't mean I'd help you _have_ the kids I mean I'd help take _care_ of them…" my face was probably hot enough to use as a grill…

He smiled, "I know." He said.

"Well," I said, "I'm glad you came, maybe we can hang out at the beach without other people getting in the way," I turned around and began walking towards the other people, waving at Sasuke to follow.

We got a few meters when the other people on the beach became clearer.

It was then that we noticed… what _kind_ of beach this part of the lake was…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Oh," Ryuichi said as Naruto, Tenten and Sakura approached him. "You guys back for more food?"

"Nope," Tenten said, "We're just going to go swimming."

"Oh," Ryuichi said, "Where's Grace?"

"She went for a walk and Sasuke went with her."

"Oh that's—which direction did they go?" Ryuichi said, turning to them worriedly.

"Huh?" Tenten said, "Oh, that way," she pointed in the direction Sasuke and Grace had gone.

Ryuichi gave a small nervous chuckle and grinned, "Whoops…" he chuckled.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"It's just that…" Ryuichi said, "I forgot to tell Grace about the lake…"

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"It's just that… _that_ side of the beach…" he started, "Is…"

"Is _what_?" Tenten asked.

"A… _nudist_ beach," Ryuichi laughed.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_To be continued…_

I'll have the next 'plot' chapter out probably before the weekend is done because I'm done prepping for the camp and school's out and I have _nothing_ to do…

Well, hoped you enjoyed the chapter!

fUnKyToEs


	47. The Fifth Hokage: Part X

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part X

WORDS: 10, 324 words

DISCLAIMER: I don't own, nor pretend to own, anything that has already been copyrighted.

BEFOREWORD: Yes… I decided to write a _very_ long chapter to compensate for not updating the original plot for a while… oh, and this is IMPORTANT. I seemingly forgot (for some reason I stupidly assumed) to tell all of you that the bonus arc… DOESN'T EXIST! It's just a _bonus_ arc, that's all. The whole boob thing and the ****thing doesn't exist, ok? It's just fun and games. They never went to the beach, it's totally unrealistic that they'd all get the day off, that's like, all their D missions right there… takes a deep breath, sorry, I suppose I just forgot to write that earlier… =­­­­­­­­­­­____=

Well, anyway, this chapter IS of existence, as it's apart of the real plot. Ok,

Enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Don't do it."

Jiraiya and Naruto blinked in surprise, turning to where Sasuke was laying. He was pushing himself up, slowly and deliberately, his body shaking with fatigue.

"This guy…" he said, his face down, overcast, "Is mine!"

Sasuke! Naruto's eyes widened. Sasuke wasn't shaking with fatigue, but with _anger_. What's with Sasuke? Naruto wondered, Why is he acting like this?

Everyone turned to him, but no one spoke.

"I have no interest in you," Itachi said, his voice completely emotionless.

"Shut the hell up!" Sasuke yelled as he charged.

Jiraiya moved for only an inch, before stopping.

Naruto's mouth fell open and he yelled in alarm when Itachi shot out his hand, just when Sasuke had reached him, and sent him flying back at the wall. Sasuke seemed to bounce off, blood almost comically spurting out of his mouth, and then gravity took in and he slammed back into the wall and slid out. The dent that was there from his previous hit was now a crater.

Naruto started to move towards him, but was cut off by Sasuke. "Don't Naruto!" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto halted, his eyes widened even father. "Sasuke…" he said quietly.

Sasuke was breathing heavily, his body shaking. Small marking where beginning to spread along his body.

_The seal…_ Itachi thought, _It's unraveling…_

Sasuke clenched his fist. "This is… _my fight_." He seethed through clenched jaws.

Naruto's eyes widened. He had never seen his friend like this before.

_So…_ Jiraiya thought, _it all comes to revenge…_

There was a moment's pause when no one did anything, till Itachi began to walk towards Sasuke.

"Bring it on!" Sasuke yelled.

Blood gurgled out of his throat when Itachi's knee made contact with his stomach. As Sasuke's body fell backwards from the momentum, Itachi slammed his elbow at the base of Sasuke's neck, forcing the body to fall forwards again, when he kicked Sasuke in the throat, forcing Sasuke's body up again. Itachi grabbed Sasuke by the neck and began slamming him by the head into the wall.

_Why…!?_ Blood spurted out of his mouth. _Why is there such a gap of power between us?!_

Kisame chuckled, "No mercy at all…"

Itachi let Sasuke drop to the floor.

_What have I been… doing all this time?_ Sasuke thought as Itachi reached back down and grasped him by the throat.

Itachi closed his eyes.

_What the hell have I been…?_

The slits that were Itachi's eyes opened, and Sasuke's hell was born yet again.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"How is she?" Jiraiya asked as the doctor came out.

The doctor sighed, "She'll live, if that's what you're asking," The doctor replied. "There's no major physical injuries."

"That's good." Jiraiya sighed.

"I had to redo the stitches on her back—I won't even ask how she got them. The bruises on her neck will heal in time. She won't need a brace, just wraps with ointment," he handed the jar and a package of cohesive bandage wrap to Jiraiya. "This should be enough—it should last two or three weeks. Put new wraps and ointment on in the morning and before she goes to sleep."

"I see…" Jiraiya said, "I'll make sure she puts it on."

"Good." The doctor says. "The only thing that worries me is her current mental state. I'm no medical ninja, but I can recognize genjutsu when I see it."

_Sasuke screamed a scream that sent shivers down their spines._

"_Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, rushing forward but Jiraiya caught him by the arm, "Guard Grace," he said, smoothly, "Don't forget, that's your mission."_

_Naruto clenched his jaw, his face tense with fury, before he conceded and stepped back, standing protectively over Grace, who was still unconscious, propped up against the wall next the woman whom Jiraiya had brought in with him upon his entrance. _

_  
The screaming persisted_.

"Yes," Jiraiya answered, "She was put under a genjutsu."

"Normally," the doctor said, "When receiving patients who were placed under genjutsu, they recover within a few hours. The effects aren't major, unless there were physical injuries added to the genjutsu."

Jiraiya nodded.

"However," The doctor said, "With this… I've never seen the effects of genjutsu quite like this before."

Jiraiya said nothing. _Of course he wouldn't_… he thought, _The mangekyo sharingan can cast a genjutsu like a small time doctor, no __**any **__doctor, medic ninja or not, has ever seen…_

"I can tell you this," the doctor continued, "She will suffer from intracranial injury, or TBI, traumatic brain injury."

"What are the side effects of this?" Jiraiya asked.

"The most obvious symptoms of TBI is nausea, dizziness, vomiting, light headedness, blurred vision, or tired eyes, headaches, difficulty balancing, and loss of motor coordination."

"How high of a chance that these symptoms will occur?" Jiraiya asked.

"Most probable. Although her physical injuries are not great, she _does_ have some slight bruising to her cranium, which has caused a slight tremor to her cranial nerves."

Jiraiya narrowed her eyes, "How bad is it?"

"Not bad," The doctor admitted, "I would like her to rest for some time, but I assume you need to be on your way?" he glanced at Jiraiya's head protector, noting that he was a ninja.

"That's right." Jiraiya paused, "These cranial nerves..."

"Control things such as her eye movement, facial expression, taste, smell, chewing, things that are located in her facial area, as well as her respiratory system and the direct sense impulses throughout her body. Basically, it controls her five senses."

"And you're saying that it was injured?"

"A _slight_ tremor," the doctor said, "Although surprisingly, the tremor did not occur entirely because of the cranial injury, that alone would only have a small effect. It was the _genjutsu_ that caused the tremor to occur."

"I see…" Jiraiya said. "You mentioned the obvious side affects of the TBI, but what about the not so obvious effects… anything I should keep my eye out for?"

"Convulsions, inability to wake up, weakness of limbs, agitation, these are just a few symptoms of severe TBI," The doctor replies. "A good symptom of this is if one or two of her pupils is dilation of one or two of her pupils."

Jiraiya nodded.

"I'm no expert," The doctor said, "But I do know some things about genjutsu. It's like… waves entering the ear and sending a vibration that is translated by the brain into sound, like the one casting the genjutsu is sending radio waves through the victims head, effecting their senses to create the illusion and hallucination that the caster wishes the victim to see, hear, smell, taste or touch. Genjutsu can often be evaluated with an EEG, a device to measure and calculate the brain waves of a patient. The EEG measures the electrical activity of the neurons of the brain. Genjutsu affects and manipulates these electrical currents, which is why it is so effective. Because this genjutsu was so powerful, the electrical currents in her brain were somewhat marred, causing the tremor."

"That makes sense." Jiraiya said.

"Because it's a genjutsu, and a powerful genjutsu, you will also have to watch out for flashbacks. These are common with genjutsu victims, and the level in which the one cast on her I'm sure that she will have one or two. Another thing," the doctor continued, "Make sure you watch for loss of movement in limbs. If one side because paralyzed or abnormal posturing, which is the involuntary flexion or extension of the limbs, as these are symptoms of ICP, or intracranial pressure."

"What happens then?"

"If the pressure within her skull raises too high she will die." The doctor said bluntly.

"And…" Jiraiya sighed, "The chances of that happening?"

"Little to none," the doctor replied. "I doubt many of these symptoms will occur," he added, "I'm just giving you the basics so you are prepared. The worst that will happen are the obvious symptoms that I mentioned earlier, like weakness or headaches or nausea. The greater symptoms are less likely to happen, but it's possible—which is why I request that she stay here, at the hospital. She is in no condition to be moving around—constant movement or stress, physical or mental, will increase the chances of more serious symptoms!"

Jiraiya sighed, leaning against the wall. "I know," he said, "I know that the best thing for her right now is to rest… but we…" he glanced at the doctor, "We're on a mission right now, an important mission."

"I understand that," The doctor said, "But _you_ must understand that her brain is in too weak of a state to—"

"I'll be careful," Jiraiya said, "She _can_ travel, correct?"

The doctor didn't say anything. He clenched his jaw for a moment, and then said, "Yes, by tomorrow she can be released—I don't _suggest_ it, but she'll be a condition that she won't _have_ to be hospitalized anymore."

"Good," Jiraiya said, "Then tomorrow we'll leave."

"But—"

"You don't have to stress it," Jiraiya said, he grinned, "Besides; we're tracking down the best medical ninja in the whole continent!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto grumbled. Why did _Jiraiya_ get to go into the room and _he_ didn't? What did the doctor have to say that they all couldn't hear?

He crossed his arms and huffed angrily.

He was getting a little worried. At first Grace seemed fine, she was able to stand and talk, right? So what was the big deal? But that was the problem. When Jiraiya and he brought her to the hospital, the staff began freaking out. They brought her into that room. She's been in there for over twenty-four hours, how much longer will it take?

Not to mention Sasuke…

_He just kept__**screaming**__. Naruto didn't know what to do. What should he do? Protect whom? How could he choose between his two best friends?_

_Jiraiya made a hand seal, and Naruto did a double take when the walls, floor and ceiling turned into something that reminded Naruto like a throat. He didn't realize how close he was. Sasuke was sucked out of Itachi's grasp and into the sides of the throat. _

_Itachi and Kisame both took a step away from the walls. Kisame looked down and took a few more steps when his feet began to sink slowly._

"_Too bad," Jiraiya said, "Itachi… Kisame… looks like the both of you are already in my stomach."_

_Itachi looked almost peacefully at Jiraiya for a few seconds more before turning back to Sasuke, who's only body part visible, was his face and upper chest. "What you are lacking…" he whispered, "The reason you are weak… is because you lack… __**hatred**__."_

"_I used black magic to summon the esophagus of the giant toad from my Ouki Mountain Rock Inn," He grinned, "I hope you enjoy being food for Iwagama!"_

_Naruto stepped from side to side, trying to get used to the strange to terrarium. "What… what's going on here!?"_

"_Don't freak," Jiraiya said, "It's just my jutsu. You and Grace are safe."_

_Itachi turned to Kisame, "Kisame, come!"_

_Kisame took a step then swore. Saliva began to crawl up his sword, holding it in place._

"_There's no way for you to escape," Jiraiya told them, "Nothing escapes my senses while in here."_

_Kisame swore again and pulled his sword free and he and Itachi began running down the hallway. Behind them, the walls of flesh began to close in. "What about the girl?" Kisame called to Itachi, who was few steps ahead. _

_Itachi looked back, at the girl who was now sleeping against the flesh. He didn't say anything, but looked ahead, picking up his speed as the walls collapsed even faster. There was a window up ahead. "Those walls are fast!" Kisame shouted, "At this rate…"_

_Itachi closed his eyes._

_Naruto jumped when Jiraiya sprang to his feet and rushed around the corner, his eyes wide with shock. "What's going on?" Naruto yelled._

_When the reached the corner, the end of the hall was blasted apart. The hallway was black, as if scorched then covered with soot. The walls were still aflame with fire that was completely black, as if cursed. The smell of reeking burning flesh was so overpowering and nauseating that Naruto almost collapsed. _

_**The wall…**__ Jiraiya thought, __**was surely blown apart by them…**_

"_This black flame…" Naruto muttered, leaning closer to peer at it._

"_You dumb ass! Jiraiya yelled, "Don't move closer to it!"  
_

_Naruto eeped and moved away._

"_And aren't you supposed to be guarding Grace?" Jiraiya yelled, smacking the blond kid over the head, "What if they had snatched her?"_

_Naruto whimpered and covered his head, rushing over to where Grace was laying._

_Jiraiya looked at the black flames. __**That guy… what on Earth did he do to do this? And this black flame…the flames were ignited from within Iwagama, and it scorched its flesh…**__ He held a scroll in his hand, and spread it in front of him. Naruto, forgetting yet again his 'post' peered over his shoulder in curiosity. _

_Jiraiya made a hand seal. __**Better save this flame to bring back…**__ he thought. "Sealing jutsu," he yelled, "Seal fire!"_

_The black flames morphed into a stream of flame that sucked into the scroll. Once the fire was all collected Jiraiya rolled the scroll then tied it tightly, pulling the stream with his teeth to ensure it was knotted thoroughly._

_Jiraiya stood up, placing the scroll in a pouch at his waist and wiping his hands off. "Alright," he said, "Everyone ok?" he glanced at Grace. __**We should probably get her to a hospital… as well as…**_

"_Sasuke?" Naruto asked, glancing at where Sasuke was still embedded in the wall. He hurried over to where his friend was. Jiraiya stamped his foot and the walls, floor and ceiling of the hotel returned to its original state. Sasuke was released and Naruto helped him to the floor._

_Sasuke appeared to be in a daze, he was staring off into the distance, his eyes not looking at anything. _

"_Sasuke…" Naruto murmured. _

_Jiraiya blinked, then turned around. "How long have you been there?" he asked._

_Naruot turned around in surprise. "An ANBU!" he said._

"_Hey, Naruto," the ANBU said, his face concealed behind the mask. _

"_Huh?" Naruto said, "Wait a second—Ryuichi!" _

"_You're a little late," Jiraiya complained, "As Squad Fifteen's captain I'd think you'd be a little faster, especially since that girl was once your ward."_

_The captain shrugged, "You little jutsu made it a little hard for me to get here," he said, "You __**do**__ realize that along with whatever is inside getting out it's pretty hard for whatever is outside for getting __**in**__ too?"_

_Jiraiya muttered something inaudible. Then he sighed, "I'm assuming that you're here to take Grace back?"_

"_Those were my orders," The ANBU replied, "I will take Lady Grace, and Sasuke Uchiha, back to the village, and report to Lady Utatane the appearance of the Akatsuki." _

_Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, "You can take Sasuke back—in fact, I insist. But Grace stays with us."_

"_My orders were—"_

"_And I'm telling you that I need Grace to stay __**here**__." Jiraiya cut._

_The ANBU was silent, then he said, "I'm afraid that Lady Utatane's orders overrule your own." He replied. "Her orders are superior to yours, regardless of your rank and stature in the village." _

_Jiraiya narrowed his eyes again, then said, "You may be very powerful, for a jonin, but I don't want to have force to make sure Grace completes the village. I'll bring her to the local hospital to ensure any injuries are un-sustained, but I must insist that she continue the mission."_

_The ANBU again was silent. "It'll be my neck," he warned, "When I don't complete this mission."_

_Jiraiya shrugged, "I know this will be the second time you failed," he said, "And that you could loose your rank as captain of the ANBU because of it," he opened his eyes and stared coldly at the younger man, "But I don't really give a rat's ass about __**your**__ type, if you get my drift."_

_Naruto looked between them, worriedly and confused. He always thought that the two of them got along… was it fake?_

"_I understand, Lord Jiraiya," the ANBU said, bowing stiffly. He disappeared then reappeared next to Sasuke, picking him up gently. "I'll tell Lady Utatane that you are having Lady Grace continue the mission."_

"_Wait!" Naruto shouted as the ANBU began walking away, "Jiraiya, what are we going to do now? Why did those guys target Grace and me? Why did that guy do this to Sasuke?" he clenched his fists, "There's a change of plans" he growled "We're going after those guys and kicking their asses! I'm not going to rest until I've gotten back at them!"_

"_You idiot," Jiraiya said, "You go after them now you'll die!"_

"_I can't just sit around and do nothing!" Naruto shouted._

"_What kind of guy—!?"_

_Jiraiya's face turned cold and he glared at Naruto, "Will you shut up for once?" he said, "You're too weak right now to do __**anything,**__ you understand me?"_

Naruto leaned forward in the bench as Jiraiya entered the room. "Well?" he asked, "How is she?"

"We'll be leaving tomorrow."

"What?!" Naruto yelled, "That long?"

"Hey," Jiraiya said, "You forget how much damage Grace has received this month, you really think that she'll recover that quickly? Both she _and_ Sasuke are in critical condition. The only difference is that Grace has to get moving quickly, while Sasuke can stay in the hospital for as long as he wants. We need to take _some_ time and let her recover."

"But…" Naruto said, his eyes closed as his mind attempted to work out the details, "Wouldn't that mean she needs to stay a long time too? Shouldn't she stay, then?"

Jiraiya sighed, "Look," he started, "We _need_ Grace in order to complete the mission. Once we find out objective Grace will be in better hands than she could ever be anywhere else."

"Why's that?" Naruto asked.

"Because," Jiraiya replied, "The woman we're searching for is the best medical ninja to ever come out of our village."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"My head hurts…" I complained.

Jiraiya turned towards me, a worried expression on his face. "What?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

I veered away from him, "Stop freaking out every time I complain," I complained, "You always used to ignore me _before_, why the sudden change in attitude?"

"Because," Jiraiya sighed, "You have—"

"Traumatic brain injury," I finished in a mocking tone, "Yeah, yeah, I _get_ it. You guys forget that I've been spending the last few months of my _life_ in a hospital for one thing or another; I'm _used_ to having some sort of weird thing wrong with me. It's like trouble is _attracted to me_. I'm so over it…" I muttered, glaring at a rock as I passed it.

"You know something," Naruto said, "I've noticed that too."

"Really?" I asked, "You _noticed_ something? Oh, look," I said in a high pitched voice, "Naruto has a _brain_. At least _your_ brain isn't 'traumatized'!" I snapped, glaring at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya glared back. "I wish you weren't in such a bad mood," Jiraiya muttered.

"Yeah," Naruto said, "Every since we left you've been in such a bad mood."

"Can't I be human for _once_?" I asked.

Jiraiya and Naruto glanced at each other. "No." they said, "We like you better when you're too happy and well behaved."

I sighed.

Why am I stuck with these two? I glanced up at the sky, "I feel like we're forgetting something…"

_Somewhere, far, far away… two servants and a large amount of luggage waited patiently for the arrival of their princess…_

"Oh well," I said, shrugging, "Must not be very important."

There was silence that was welcomed by all of us. The scenery was so peaceful. When I first woke up in the hospital, it gave me a little bit of a shock. To tell you the truth, I thought I was back in Konoha, and, to continue telling the truth, I sort of wished I _was_ there. I wanted to make sure that Sasuke was ok. It was weird, I mean, I don't _remember_ Sasuke being there. The only reason I knew was because I remember reading about it, as well as Naruto and Jiraiya informing me that Ryuichi had come and taken him back. I hope he's ok… I was almost too scared to ask what Itachi had done to him… just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine. Thinking about what Itachi might have done to Sasuke reminded me of what Itachi did to _me_.

My first experience with genjutsu wasn't the most pleasant of experiences…

And what I saw…

I shuddered so visibly that Jiraiya halted again. "You ok?" he asked.

"Why do you keep asking me that?" I asked, "I think you'd be able to tell if I started having a seizure."

"I know," Jiraiya replied, "I'm just being careful."

"If you're in such a need to be careful you should have left me at the hospital." I informed him.

He sniffed and turned his back towards me, which, I might add, is a perfect target to practice glaring daggers at.

"When are we getting there?" I asked, cutting the silence.

"Soon."

Naruto and I looked at each other, and grinned at the new opportunity.

We both waiting a moment before Naruto asked, "How long now?"

"_Soon_," Jiraiya replied.

We suppressed the giggles that were starting to sneak up our throats.

"What about now?" I asked.

"No."

"Now?" Naruto asked.

"No."

"_Now?_" I asked, grinning.

"NO!" Jiriaya shouted, turning to me, his eyes wide like he hadn't been sleeping for a whole week.

Naruto and I leaned backwards in an almost comical way, unable to suppress the chuckles from the humorous look on his face. He sighed and started walking.

We stayed quiet, before Naruto opened his mouth.

And that was when my admiration for Jiraiya grew tenfold. Quickly than I could see, Jiraiya appeared behind Naruto and duct taped his mouth.

Then he quickly walked ahead of us and continued walking. Naruto's eyes were wide and his face turned red.

"Wow," I said, "That's pretty cruel."

"You really want to hear Naruto talk for another two hours?" Jiraiya asked.

"Good point."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

They were beginning to come up to the village. "Another little outskirt of Konoha?" I asked.

"Yup." Jiraiya replied, "There are a lot these little outposts and provinces."

Naruto sped up and tugged on Jiraiya's sleeve, glaring and pointing at his… ahem… otherwise immobile mouth. "Oh, sorry," Jiriaya apologized.

"OOOOOWWWWWWW!" Naruto yelled as Jiraiya ripped off the duct tape. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE TO DO IT SO PAINFULLY!??!?"

"WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO HELL SO LOUDLY NEAR A SETTLEMENT!" Jiraiya yelled back with equal volume.

"You're both yelling pretty loudly," I muttered, glancing that the people who were staring at us.

Jiraiya hit Naruto over the head, and continued walking. "You know," I muttered, "You kind of look like a child abuser." He really does, I thought, in fact, with his white hair and perverted reputation… and with my bruises and injuries… we could easily be mistaken as—

"I want the two of you to behave while we're here," Jiraiya began.

Naruto halted his face serious. Jiraiya and I stopped, stunned slightly.

"Pervy Sage," he said, "Those guys… why are they after Grace and I? What are they after?" there was silence. "You don't know, don'tcha?"

"They're not so much after _you_, but what's inside of you." Jiraiya replied.

Naruto placed his hand on his stomach, gazing down.

"And me?" I asked, "What are they after me for?"

He didn't reply. Then, "You're smart," he said, "They're after your intelligence."

"Intelligence," Naruto began.

I gazed at Jiraiya, "You're not telling the full truth," I said.

He gazed back. "No… no I'm not." He admitted.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"But…" the small dark haired woman exclaimed, backing away from the entrance of the building, "But… this is the most expensive gambling den around!"

"Stop your complaining," Tsunade muttered, lifting the flap of the entrance, "Come on, let's go."

The men inside looked up in surprise at the sight of the two woman, and the pig, walking into the room. A few recognized her.

She placed a large brief case down and opened it. It was full of money that could not possibly belong to her. "I want to turn this all into chips," she said, grinning.

_It didn't take long for the rest of them to recognize the…_

_Gah!_ The small dark haired woman shrieked in her head, _They're happy already!_

…_Legendary Sucker!_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So…" Naruto asked, "This Tsunade woman you mentioned earlier, is she the woman we're tying to find?"

"Yup," Jiraiya said, "you're getting smarter!"

I giggled.

"You mentioned that she's the best medical ninja around, so… she's pretty famous?"

"Yup," I said, smiling.

"So it'll be pretty easy to find her!" Naruto grinned.

"Actually," Jiraiya said, "She may have a name for herself but she'll be pretty hard to find… She ain't really the type to age gracefully… so she'll probably use some sort of jutsu to make herself look younger."

"Is that even possible?" I asked. "I mean, why would someone want to do that in the first place?"

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked, "Don't _you_ want to prolong aging for as long as you want?"

I shrugged, "Why bother? It's going to happen anyway and it's natural, I'm not afraid of aging. Besides, I have plenty of time till that time comes and personally, _I_ don't want to be a twenty year old grandmother…"

"So you _do_ want to be a grandmother," Naruto asked.

"Well, _duh_," I said, "Why wouldn't I?"

"Nothing," Naruto grinned.

"Anyway," Jiraiya continued, "Like Grace said, she'll probably have the appearance of a twenty year old. However," he said, "I've heard lately that she's been changing her appearance to that of a ten year old, or a forty year old, or etc., to get away from her gambling debts…"

"Oh yeah," I said, "She has a problem with that… That'll probably cause problems later, too…"

"You have no idea," Jiraiya agreed dryly.

"That's not… very good," Naruto muttered.

Jiraiya placed his hand behind his head, "As a kid, Tsunade always used to loved to gamble," he grinned, "But she always sucked at it, both in skill and luck."

"Personally," I said, "I'd give up—why do such a risky thing all the time if you always fail?"

"Then why bother being a ninja?" Jiraiya asked.

"Are you suggesting I'd always fail?" I snapped.

"No," Jiraiya said, "But it's still risky."

"I doubt someone will assign someone a mission they aren't capable of—it's an entirely different matter."

Jiraiya shrugged.

"So how are we going to find her?" Naruto asked.

"We'll be going by foot," Jiraiya muttered, "Haven't you caught on by now?"

"By _foot_?" Naruto whined, "But that will take too long!"

"Don't you remember what I said earlier?" I grinned, "We're spending most of the time on you!"

"Hey!" Jiraiya complained, "That was supposed to be _my_ cool line!"

"If _that_ was supposed to be your _cool_ line—it sucked," I pointed out.

Jiraiya sighed dejectedly, "Well," he said, "Anyway, Grace is correct. I'll be training you along the way, so there's no reason to be in a rush."

"Training me?!" Naruto yelled, excitedly, jumping up and down.

"You'd think he forgot from when we told him earlier," I muttered to Jiraiya.

"You think we didn't tell him?" He asked.

"I don't even remember," I shrugged, "We might of—we might of not."

"I think you're the one who's forgotten," Jiraiya muttered to himself.

I glared at him, "You—"

We kept walking for a bit, getting closer and closer to the little village. To tell you the truth I was a little apprehensive. Not that I expected Akatsuki to be waiting there for us and to attack us again—that'be just stupid, seriously, but…still. The fact that we were replaying the last scene was sort of… déjà vu like. I mean, it's like… the _same_ scenario. Hopefully we get Tsunade and leave.

That too, I'm worried about. What is Tsunade like in real life? And I don't just mean the size of her breast. I mean… what is she going to _act_ like? I know how she acts in the manga and anime but is there any difference in real _life_? What will she act like around me? How will she react to me? Will she even _like_ me? As far as I'm concerned it's pretty important for her to like me. Whether I like it or not those elders are turning me into quite the little political figure—and I'm not just talking about pretending to be a princess who's pretending to be a nobody—"Oh my god!" I shrieked, "We forgot about pretending to be a nobody!"

"What?" Jiraiya said, turning around.

"We forgot…" I muttered, slumping. "To pretend… to be… a nobody…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto asked, confused.

"You know how I'm pretending to be 'Princess Haruka'?" I asked.

"Ah," Jiraiya said, a lightbulb going off in his head, "We forgot about referring to you as Ayame…"

"Yup." I said, sighing. "So much for the mission.

"It doesn't matter," Jiraiya said, "The Akatsuki already figured out that you were the real Grace, as long as other villages don't figure it out, we're good."

"So you have to refer to me as Ayame?" I asked.

"Probably," Jiraiya said, "Well, actually… Grace might be somewhat of an unusual name but I'm sure we can call you it, it's not like we're talking about you in public like you're the Hokage's granddaughter, and besides, with that long hair you have on, no one, unless they knew you, or have seen you up close on a regular basis, would be able to recognize you."

I grinned, "I suppose that's true." I placed a hand on my heart, "It gave me a heart attack for a moment there."

Naruto grinned, "That wouldn't be good!"

"I wasn't serious," I snapped. "I think you'd notice if I had a _heart attack_."

"Hey," Naruto complained, "I was pretending too!"

"Yeah right," Jiraiya and I said in unison.

We continued to walk in silence. I bet we'll get to the village in a few minutes… maybe fifteen? Like I was thinking before… the village was turning me into a political figure. I don't just mean being the former Hokage's granddaughter, I mean… I had overheard, shortly before I left, Lady Utatane talking to that guy elder about the council… I wonder if they'll be—

"Alright Pervy Sage!" Naruto squealed, "What are you going to teach me, eh, eh?"

"Well don't get too fired up," Jiraiya muttered, his shoulders slumping already with exhaustion at the thought of having to train the runt, "We still need to gather information about Tsunade—there's no point in training before we do that."

"Information?" Naruto asked.

I blinked. There was a railing up ahead, marking the end of the road. When we reached it, I realized that the road we were walking on was on the bluff above the village. No wonder I could only see a few houses in the distance! "This is sooo cool!" Naruto exclaimed, "Not as cool as Konoha, but cool nonetheless!"

"Didn't know there was such a long word in your vocabulary," I grinned, but I have to say, I'm pretty excited too. This is, besides the little village just outside of Konoha we were at before, the first real village I've been to in this world!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Wow," I said, "It's so much bigger than the last village!"

I think there was some sort of festival going on, because there was a huge marketplace and bazaar set up with stalls and tents and shops selling tons of things. The streets were crowded with people, it was almost hard to walk through all of them. There were children dressed up as ANBU running around with little fake katana and people eating ice cream, Asian food, and cotton candy. "Wait," I said, pointing, "They have cotton candy?"

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed, a cute little excited blush on his face, "This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this before!"

"Well," Jiraiya grinned, "Have fun doing whatever you want! And you," He turned to me, "Be careful." He turned to face the both of us, grinning, "This will be a little beak before the real training starts, so have fun, and we'll be staying here for now, ok?"

Naruto grinned and slipped off his backpack, reaching in and pulling out a little stuffed frog. He rubbed it against his cheek, uncontrollably grinning.

"Wow," I said, in awe, "That's a lot of money!"

"It's like a tax collector!" Jiraiya exclaimed, "That's a lot of loot, kid!"

"Well," Naruto said, with pride, "I've been saving up! It's good to have money for a rainy day, right? Well," he said, grabbing my hand, "Let's go!"

"Hold on one second!" Jiraiya called. "Where do the two of you think you're going?" he snatched the little frog purse away from Naruto and looked seriously down at the two of us, "You shouldn't go spend this!" he said, "Don't the either of you know anything about the Three Ninja Sins?" he closed his eyes.

"Nope," Naruto said, "What is it?"

"I can't believe you don't know what they are…" he sighed.

"Like you're a good example," I muttered.

"There are three things that ninja are forbidden from doing… alcohol… money… and woman!"

"Then you've broken all of those every day of your life," I pointed out, dryly, "Who are you to tell us not to do those?"

"Besides," Naruto said, "Grace and I aren't even twenty, so no alcohol for us, and I'm too young to be seriously into woman, and _Grace_ certainly isn't into woman, so there's no worry of us spending money on that."

"You idiots!" Jiraiya yelled, "Don't say something so brainless about money! You two will end up waiting it anyway!"

"You're the brainless idiot!" I yelled back, "Collect information—my _ass_, you're just going to spend Naruto's money on woman!"

He backed away from me, "Watch who you're accusing!" he yelled.

"What do you _mean_," I sneered, "Don't forgot—_you're_ the one who keeps insisting that I'm so _smart_, it's that same INTELLIGENCE that I have that I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO WITH THE MONEY!"

He didn't say anything, "Damn…" he muttered.

I snatched the purse away from him, "Besides, _I'm_ not a ninja yet, so it doesn't matter for me. Come on, Naruto."

"Wait!" Jiraiya called, tossing us his backpack, "Hold on to this for me!"

Naruto grumbled and grabbed it, slinging it over his shoulder.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed, "That was really amazing!"

I grinned, making a fist in the air, "Wasn't it! We sure got the best of _that_ perverted Sage!"

"I know!" Naruto squealed, "Now we can spend money doing whatever we want!"

"Speaking of which," I said, looking around, "What exactly _do_ you want to do?"

Naruto paused, joining me in our quick scan of the area. "No idea," he said, "I'll just do a little of everything!"

"I think I'm going to buy clothes…" I said, "I'm sick of wearing these. I don't care if the hospital washed them… I need _new_ clothes."

"I don't think I have enough money for spending on fun stuff _and_ clothes," Naruto said, looking worriedly at his purse.

"Don't worry," I grinned, "I have lots of money!"

"Really?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yup," I grinned, "Lady Utatane gave it to me, she told me not to tell Jiraiya—probably because she knew that he'd try to take it from me—to spend on whatever I might need."

"That's so cool!" Naruto said. "Where are you going to buy clothes? What are you going to buy?"

I glanced around, "I'll probably buy something that helps me blend in… maybe something a little more Asian?" I nodded, "Yup, I'll buy something a little more Asian." I set of towards a shop.

Naruto stood there, a confused look on his face. "… _Asian?"_ He asked out loud.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Wow!" I said, "That was so much fun! I can't believe how much you suck at everything—I mean, you're a _ninja_, shouldn't you be really good at this stuff?" I laughed, "_I_ was better than you!"

"Shut up," Naruto muttered. "Hey! Let's try on some masks!"

We walked over to a masks stall and Naruto grabbed an ANBU mask, placing it over his face. "How do I look?" he said, posing.

"Like a _really_ short ANBU wearing a blindingly obvious orange jumpsuit." I said. "You might have to rethink your wardrobe if you want to enter the ANBU, kid."

"Whatever," Naruto said, taking a step. He yelped as he tripped over a rock and landed on his face.

"Watch it!" The owner said, "If you're putting a mask on be careful where you step!"

"And he's a ninja," I muttered to the stall owner.

"You're kidding," The owner said in disbelief.

"Sadly… no…" I said.

"A pretty girl like you," he grinned, "Would look beautiful in this!" he produced from within his sleeves a beautiful pinkish purple ribbon.

"Wow!" I squealed, "That really _is_ pretty!"

I turned around and let him place it in my hair. I rushed over to the mirror and glanced in it. It really _did_ look pretty! With the blond hair and the ribbon with a bow at an angle I looked like a doll! I handed him some money but he shook his head, blushing, "No, no, I couldn't possible charge a pretty girl like you!"

_Pervert…_ I thought, but I smiled sweetly nonetheless.

"Grace!" Naruto yelled, "Look at this!" he accusingly pushed a little book in front of my face.

I pushed it away, "I can't see it if you put it so close," I said. My eyes widened. "Is that Jiraiya's bank book?!"

"Look at all the zeroes!" Naruto exclaimed, "He can buy whatever he wants with all this!"

"Wow," I said, "It's a good thing I kept him from taking your purse…"

"Yeah," Naruto said, "Good thing…"

"So," I said, paying the man for Naruto's masks, for some reason he didn't mind _Naruto_ paying him, and when we finally got away from the stall we began walking towards some more shops, "Where do you want to go now?"

"I'm starving!" Naruto said, "Let's go there!" he pointed at a little stall/shop sort of thing. It reminded me of Ichiraku Ramen Bar at Konoha.

"Really?" I asked, "Ok."

When we got there I realized that their specialty was squid. "Bleh," I said, making a face, "I'll pass, thanks."

"I'll order those ones!" Naruto said excitedly, "Why don't you like squid?"

"Because," I said, "I'm just not into seafood."

"So _that's _why you don't eat like… anything," Naruto said, "Seriously, you have the weirdest eating habits."

"I do not!" I yelled, "So, I don't eat seafood, what's the big idea?"

"Whatever country you came from must have been weird," he said, stuffing a small squid into his mouth, "Cause _here_, we EAT."

I sniffed and looked away, then chuckled when he proceeded to choke on the squid he had put in there. After a little while we left and began searching for Jiraiya.

"He has to be done… doing whatever he's doing," I said, "By now, at least."

"We do we have to carry these anyway?" he asked, holding a small and large squid in his hands.

"Because the large one is for Jiraiya and the small one is a present for you." I informed him.

"I know _that_," he said, "That shop owner was really nice to us—I wonder how he knew we were with Jiraiya?"

"Because we told him?" I said slowly.

"Oh yeah," Naruto said, "But why would he give us free food then?"

"Remember when I said earlier that Jiraiya had a shop here?" I asked.

"Um…"

"Well, I said it," I said, "That was his shop."

Naruto halted. "He _owns_ that shop?" he asked, "_Man_, he must be loaded!"

"You saw his bank book," I said, "Seriously, that creep must have thought he was smart trying to pull that fast one on us…" I smirked, "Good thing I _know_ his moves…" I shuddered, "That sounded _so_ wrong…"

We halted when we heard laughter coming from within a building. We looked at each other. "That sounds like…" I said.

Naruto rushed over to the building and opened the flap, "Pervy Sage's voice…"

Sure enough, there was the pervert, with three… ahem… lankily dressed ladies stringed on him. Strange, he didn't even take Naruto's money and yet he STILL ended up here. Pervert is as pervert does…

He was drunk as well, not surprisingly.

Naruto and I just stood there, at the entrance, staring at him. "I told you he breaks those sin things." I said.

"I bet those Ninja Sins are just made up—a way to get our money," Naruto accused.

"That creep would probably go to any means," I said, dryly, "To get _money, alcohol_, and _woman_."

"What a _creep_," Naruto said.

"To think, while taking care of two _minors_," I added, "He go off and do something so unseemly as _this_."

"Hey!" Jiraiya complained, hiccupping slightly, "You guys… aren't be'n berry nice."

"And he's not even setting a good grammatical example," I said, sighing and shaking my head, "What a failure."

"So… how'd it go at the festival?" he hiccupped again.

"Fine," I said. "How'd it go _here_?"

"HOT!" Jiraiya barked in laughter. The three women next to him laughed that fake little laugh. "You!" he said, pointing at me, "What'ya… do'n… there? Huh?"

"What on Earth are you talking about?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips.

"You… look really _preeeeetty,_" he said, a stupid little smile on his face.

"You idiot," I seethed, "You CREEP! You're what, fifty? I'm what, sixteen?"

"Hey," he said, "You're… you know, 'sixteen'. That's… the age of consent."

I shuddered and recoiled away from him, "You _freak_," I accused, "I don't like it when you're drunk!"

"You perverted old man!" Naruto yelled, raising his hand up in the air. He gasped as the squid stick slipped and flew out of his hand.

"You brat!" Someone yelled from behind.

We spun around to see two white dressed men walk in. "Whoa," I said, "I was kind of hoping they wouldn't show up…"

"How did you know…" Naruto began, but wasn't able to finish.

"What the hell are you going to do about this?" The man in front yelled. "This is a designer suit! You're going to have to compensate for it!"

"You know," I said, "For a designer suit it looks pretty cheap."

"What!?" the man seethed, turning to me, "And who are you?" he sneered, "This kids big sister?"

I folded my arms, "That's right," I said, "You have a problem with my little brother?"

"Like hell I do!" he yelled, "Look here," a creepy look spreading across his face, "How about you be a good older sister and _you_ can _compensate_ for the money it will need to replace it… eh, Akoki? What do you say? This girl is pretty cute, huh!" he reached out but before he did so Jiraiya appeared in front of me.

"Look," he said, "I don't care what kind of fucking trashed clothing you bastards wear, the only perverted adult allowed to mess with this girl is me, got it?"

"Look here, you bastard!" The bald man yelled, "You better watch your step! Akoki is a former Chuunin from the Stone Village! He's a legendary Yami Ninja! Someone to be afraid of! So watch your back! Or it'll be your neck!"

"Legendary, huh?" Jiraiya chuckled.

Akoki growled, "I'll show you what real pain is!" he yelled, as he charged Jiraiya.

Jiraiya pushed me aside, causing me to collide with Naruto. "Naruto!" He yelled, "Pay close attention!" His hand was extended to the side, and what appeared to be whirlpool appeared in his palm, forming a little ball of spinning air. "This is the technique I'll be teaching you." The currents of air were so powerful it nearly blew me over. I can't believe the rasangan was so powerful! Jiraiya rushed towards the Chuunin and slammed the hand with the wind technique into the man's stomach, sending the man flying backwards and into a cart.

"No way!" I said, "That's there too!"

"C—cool!" Naruto exclaimed, "That's so sick!"

"I can't believe it," I said, holding my face with my hands and staring at the little cart full of water balloons, "What the hell is this world coming too? Is my WHOLE LIFE full of coincidences or does someone up there like MESSING with me?!"

"Who are you talking to?" Naruto asked.

"A Satanist," I muttered. Then I shook my head, "I'm just a little… taken aback by the velocity of the technique."

"…velocity?" Naruto asked.

"Never mind," I shook my head.

Jiraiya picked up a water balloon and chuckled. "Hey old man!" he yelled to the frantic and hysterically owner of the cart, "I'll buy all the water balloons, both the intact ones and the ones that were ruined!" He handed the old man the wad of money, then turned to Naruto, both and I had run out of the building as soon as Jiraiya had left. "Let's get training!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Ooh, yeah!" Naruto yelled, pumping the air with his fists, "I can feel the tension rising! Let's get training! Let's get training! LET'S GET TRAINING! BELIEVE IT!"

"Shut UP!" Jiraiya yelled, covering his ears, "I can't take any more of this!"

"Tell me about it…" I muttered from where I was sitting on a bench, a little ways away. We were just outside the village, near the road. I was sitting on a bench, watching the two bicker back and forth, sipping tea. Seriously, they should just get to the training, unless they're training for how long two idiots can yell at each other over who's the greater idiot…

Jiraiya nodded towards me and I reached down into a bag and took out a water balloon. I tossed it to him and he caught it, then proceeded to hand it to Naruto. "Here, a water balloon." He said.

Naruto tossed it from one hand to the other, "So why do I have to hold this?" he asked, an annoyed expression on his face.

Jiraiya sighed, "Didn't you pay _any_ attention when I did the jutsu?"

"Of course I did!" Naruto yelled, "But how am I supposed to connect that with a water balloon!?"

Jiraiya sighed, "Well, what did you see in the jutsu?"

I sipped my tea again, quietly and calmly. I'm going for the 'pretty girl side kick' that sits in the distance and just pretends to be pretty and does nothing, really.

"Um…" Naruto closed his eyes, thinking, "I saw… spinning? Yeah, those guys spun!"

Jiraiya grinned and motioned to me. I sighed, set down my tea cup gracefully, no pun intended, no, scratch that, pun intended, and picked up a water balloon, throwing it to him. He caught it, giving me a weird look, most likely at my sudden strange attitude, then held the balloon in his palm. "Watch," he instructed.

Even I leaned forward in my seat, trying to get a better look.

The water… _inside_ the balloon was _spinning_.

Then, when the water reached a certain speed the balloon exploded.

"Wow!" I said, "That's amazing!" I got up, forgetting that I was pretending to be lady like and walked over. "How did you do that?" I asked.

"_I'm_ the one who's supposed to ask questions," Naruto said.

"What if you're too stupid to think of them?" I snapped.

"Hey!" Naruto said, "I'm not _that_ stupid!"

"Yeah you are," I retorted.

"You just beat me to it!" Naruto said, "They were on the tip of my tongue!"

"So you're slow too," I said, sighing in mocking exasperation, "I can't believe what I have to put up with…"

"Will you two just shut up?" Jiraiya snapped, "And let me _explain_?"

We meeped into silence.

Jiraiya cleared his throat, and then began. "I'm sure," he told Naruto, "That you remember with your tree climbing, you must control and level your chakra flow, correct?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied.

"And that with the water walking," he continued, "The flow of chakra must be irregular and continuously changing, to match the flow of water, right?"

"…yeah…" Naruto replied.

"Well," Jiraiya concluded, "With _this_ jutsu, you're using the water technique. A continuously changing flow of chakra."

"Chakra with continuous flow…" Naruto said, musing over the facts in his head. I'm sure it's just echoing in there.

"Ok," Jiraiya said, "Here's a way to understand it. To be able to do this jutsu, you need to be able to read the "elements" and predict the outcome."

"How will I do that?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya turned towards me.

"What?" I asked, "I'm not a walking encyclopedia!"

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

I smacked my head.

Jiraiya ignored Naruto's comment, and continued his lesson. He held up a finger, "First, you will use the tree climbing chakra by maintaining your chakra in a constant flow. Second, you will use the water walking chakra for the release, which will be continuous."

"I get it!" Naruto exclaimed happily. "Do the tree climbing until the water is about to boil, and then do the water walking technique to release it!"

"Good job!" Jiraiya said, rubbing his head, "You're getting better and better at this!"

"What about _my_ training?" I asked.

Jiraiya turned towards me, confused, "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you say earlier," I said, pointing in the direction we had originally come form, "Way earlier, that you'd train me, too?"

There was silence.

"Oh _yeah_…" Jiraiya said slowly, "That's right, I did say that." He grinned, "Ok, we can work on your shadow clone jutsu."

"But—"

"Until you've perfected that I won't teach you another technique." He said, "You need to work on your chakra skills, and since you're missing about five or six years of training you need to make sure you master the beginning skills. After that I'll start you on—no… that's dangerous…" he frowned. "After that, you'll just have to deal with it."

"Why can't, after I master the shadow clone jutsu, you teach me to walk up trees?"

"What if you fall?" he asked, "Do you realize what a delicate state you brain is? Until we reach Tsunade and she can heal you, you need to be careful."

"Ok, _ok_," I said, "how about after I master shadow clone jutsu and _after_ we find Tsunade and she heals me _then_ you teach me the climbing technique?"

Jiraiya sighed. "Fine."

"Yay!" I cheered. "Good luck, Naruto!"

"Good luck, Grace!" He cheered back.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I felt Naruto moving and I opened my eyes. The poor boy. Jiraiya didn't feel like getting a two rooms, and we were sleeping on one of those futon mattress things on the floor. I didn't feel, nor did I feel safe, like sleeping next to the fifty year old pervert, so I had Naruto sleep between us. Both Jiraiya and I have a habit of clinging to whatever living thing is near us.

"I have to pee…" Naruto mumbled, half asleep. I let go of him and together we untangled him from Jiraiya. Jiraiya muttered something about 'boobs' then turned around and began snoring.

I helped Naruto up and led him to the door. It was almost comical the way he was moving, like he was sleep walking. I had half of a suspicion that he _was,_ he was so much like a zombie. He's so cute when he's sleepy!

I opened the door and peered out, nearly getting a heart attack when a cat meowed at my feet. Her owner called for her and she went bounding off. "I wonder where the bathroom is…" I whispered as Naruto began to sleepily lean against my side. I grabbed his hand and led him off towards the end of the balcony, to where the restroom sign was. The cutest thing was Naruto's sleeping cap. I've never seen something so cute before… I could eat ten bowls of rice of it! Just kidding… but seriously… Naruto's got to be the cutest kid in the world. I always forget he's only two and half years younger than me.

"Here's the bathroom," I told him, opening the door and leading him inside. I tiptoed out and closed the door behind him, standing guard (there wasn't a lock).

I sighed, and crossed my arms, shivering in the early morning breeze. It was nice out—it'll be a nice day at least. A good day for training. Yesterday I managed to make a clone, but it was so pathetic looking I almost gave up for the day. I'll have to keep trying, I thought, after all, if I complete this mission I'll become a Genin! I need to learn how to do these basic jutsus if I'll ever be successful as a ninja! I glanced downwards, to the street level, and smiled as I saw the doors of shops and houses opening and people beginning to quietly and slowly bustle out.

"GRACE!"

I shrieked as the bathroom door flew open, Naruto standing there, his eyes wide with excitement. "I figured it out!" he exclaimed.

"How to flush the toilet? Gah—Put your pants on!" I shrieked.

His face turned bright red and the door closed with a bang, then opened, his clothes now fully on. "I figured it out!" he repeated, "The spinning thing!"

"I don't even want to know _how_," I said, "But I'm glad you figured it out."

"Remember before!" Naruto informed me excitedly, "You remember how I was able to spin the water but not break the balloon?"

"Yeah."

"You know how the Pervy Sage was telling me before how I had to concentrate the flow of chakra?"

I sighed, "Naruto…" I said, "It's _way_ too early to be thinking about something like that…"

He tugged on my bathrobe, "No, really!" he said, "It's important!"

"I understand that," I yawned, "I was just coming out to help you get safely to the bathroom, I didn't mean for you to—"

"Come on!" he whined, "Just listen?"

I sighed, "Ok," I said, "Just don't expect me to pay any attention to you."

I wasn't kidding when I didn't pay any attention to his blabbering. I was so tired myself that I couldn't keep up with his ADD/ADHD mind. How does this kid do it, huh?

"And that's what I realized!" Naruto grinned cheekily at the end of his rant.

I yawned, "That's really great, Naruto, can I get back to bed?"

"Huh?" Naruto said, "You don't want to train?"

"Look," I said, waving tiredly as I began to walk back to our room, "Go ahead, knock yourself out, in fact, do that exactly, it'll save me the energy later…"

"So what you're saying is…" Naruto said slowly, "You're going to go back and sleep in the same room… all _alone_… with that perverted old man…?"

I halted and turned around slowly, a panicked look on my face. "Think I could tag along?" I asked quietly.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto was wearing his blindingly bright jump suit, as usual, but I was still wearing the bathrobe and pajamas that I had bought. The pajamas were light pink and the bathrobe was purple. Somehow they just went with the hair. Ok, so I always wanted to buy some sort of girly sleep wear, don't judge me, ok?

I slumped against the back of the bench, folding my arms and shivering slightly. The sun had just risen, about a half an hour ago, probably, and although Naruto was sweating from his work out with training, _I_ was freezing. Seriously, I think I'd rather chance the dark and creepy dangers of the empty room with Jiraiya than here… on second thought… I think I'd rather be here…

Not that I don't trust Jiraiya, I know he'd never do anything for real… not intentionally at least. That's what I'm worried about… what if he did something while he was sleeping? Just thinking about it makes shivers go down my spine…

But… this was still nice. I finally have some quiet time to think in peace. Yesterday I was spending my time training, even though it was annoying because Jiraiya kept making me take it easy and rest. He doesn't seem to like the idea of me doing too much work. Says it's bad for my mental health.

"As soon as we find Tsunade," he keeps saying. I know that whatever Jiraiya is freaked will go wrong with my head she'll be able to fix, but seriously, I'd like to _not_ be fussed over like this. Don't get me wrong, being fussed over isn't bad, but when you can't even _do_ anything because people are overreacting and worried that you'll have a seizure or fall over dead it gets kind of annoying.

But now… I can just rest and think.

What I'm most worried about is Sasuke… I know, from Naruto, and Jiraiya, that he came… but I don't remember him at all. I don't remember anything, except for when Itachi placed me under the genjustsu. After that everything is blackness. I don't even remember waking up. Naruto and Jiraiya informed me that I had woken up for a short amount of time, protecting Naruto. This surprised me, and I was kind of pleased that my maternal instincts were that great. But… why can't I remember it? It's all so confusing.

And Sasuke… I kept wanting to ask Jiraiya what happened. Is Sasuke ok? Is he badly injured? Was he placed under the genjutsu? If so, how bad? The same as… I remember? But I'm too afraid to ask. Too afraid that it'll make _me_ remember. Too afraid of seeing that look on Naruto's face, the look of someone who had just lost a friend.

"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Naruto yelled.

"What?" I snapped, "I was just thinking something really cool, there!"

"I can't do it!" Naruto complained. "I guess I was wrong…"

"So I'm guessing the only thing you learned this morning was how to flush the toilet?"

He glared at me.

"Let's go back," I said, yawning. "I'm really tired and we should probably get some rest before tomorrow—I mean today. Jeez, I'm all messed up."

"Alright…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

As we walked up the steps to the balcony, we noticed that the door to our room was open. "Must have left it open," I said, "Oh well."

"Hey," Naruto said, "One of those balloons rolled out." We stopped at the sight of a calico cat swatting at it with its paws.

It was such a peculiar moment. Knowing that I've seen it before wasn't even the most peculiar part of it, it was like déjà vu. The strangest part was the fact that I knew _exactly_ what was going on inside of Naruto's head; I didn't even have to look at him.

I knew before the cat did that it would pop the balloon with it's claw. It hissed and jumped away, glaring at it from a safe distance.

"That's…" Naruto said. "That's it…"

And I knew that he had it.

He dashed through the open door and started yelling for Jiraiya to wake up, "COME ON you Pervy Sage! At least wake up!"

"Only if Grace does the Sexy Jutsu…" Jiraiya muttered happily in his sleep. "Yeah… just like that…"

I reached into the bag of water balloons and tossed one to Naruto. He grinned as he caught it, and then stood above the perverts head. He held the ball in one hand, then… _swoosh_, water rained down on Jiraiya's head.

The older man spluttered and his eyes twitched as he fought between sleep and confusion. "What the hell?" he muttered, staring up at the triumphant look on Naruto's face.

"First step," Naruto grinned, "Cleared."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Right, right," Jiraiya said, "So you cleared the first step, good for you."

He yawned, "But why'd you have to drag me out here?" he muttered, "The suns not even up yet."

"Oh, quit complaining," I snapped, "The suns been up for the last hour."

"That's still pretty early," Jiraiya whined.

I sighed, "Since I have no intention of training this early," I said, "I'm going to go take a walk in town." I started walking towards the stair that led down to the village, "Bye!" I waved.

They didn't respond, and if they did I didn't hear them. Naruto was probably too hyped about the next step and Jiraiya was probably too lazy. Jeez… he blonds in the Nara clan… I walked down and walked through the now only beginning town. Most people weren't up, and there weren't any passerby's, or shoppers, unless you count myself and other people taking a morning stroll. Mainly people were beginning to set up stalls and shops, beginning to cook food. It smelled so nice and fresh—so nice! A perfect place to start the day. I really like it here, I thought as I reached a fountain. "I didn't see this before," I said, smiling as I leaned over to peer at my reflection.

It wasn't until I looked at my reflection that I realized I wasn't alone…

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_To be continued…_

32 PAGES!!! I'm pooped…

Well, hope you enjoyed the chapter… I enjoyed writing it… but my hand muscled didn't… anyway, about the genjutsu… I made it up, yes, yes, it's embarrassing. I just had to think of a way to scientifically explain genjutsu… and that's the only way that made sense to my feeble and brainless mind… I've only ever worked with DNA, not the brain… oh, and I know that they might not have DVD players in the Naruto world, but they do, if you pay attention to the manga, have pretty high tech medical equipment, so they probably _would_ have an EEG (or something similar), if not… well… I don't care.

Anyway,

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I should be updating soon because I'm going to Hawaii for a week starting the first of July so I won't be able to update then but I'll probably update two chapters next week instead of one to make up for it.

Well, have a nice week!

fUnKyToEs


	48. Bonus Arc: The Beach: Part IV: Final

TITLE: Truthspeaker: Bonus Arc: The Beach

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Beach: Part IV

WORDS: 9,062 words

DISCLAIMER: I don't claim anything that doesn't already belong to me.

BEFOREWORD: Sorry it took so long to update this! I was going to update it before I went on vacation but I had promised my sister I'd babysit the day before and day of we left, which meant I pretty much spent all my time watching my _very_ high energy niece and nephew (whom I love, but they tire me out…) and then in Hawaii I didn't have access to a computer… I was going to write it as soon as I got back (exactly a week before today) but then the day after I got back from vacation I was jumping on the trampoline and tripped coming off and sprained my foot really badly, so I've been on crutches and drugged with pain medication that makes it really hard for me to concentrate on something like writing, but then yesterday and today I decided I would just write the last chapter of the bonus arc so I can concentrate on the actual plot. So if this chapter seems a little jumpy, random, or just weird it's not me, it's the meds! I swear… But seriously, I'm going crazy… even taking a shower is a painful and time consuming ordeal… it's so annoying! *clenches fists* I hate being immobile. I'll be on crutches for about three weeks, that's how bad the sprain was. It was a whole week ago and my foot has actually gotten worse… it just _had_ to be the day after I got back from vacation…

Well, anyway, I apologize if this isn't the best chapter, but I just plugged through it:

Enjoy!

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It was sort of a… chain effect what happened next. I mean, we both sort of reacted before we came to the exact realization. We both went rigid and then turned around quickly, except that we both turned inward and ended up crashing into each other, causing us to fall down.

"Why didn't you tell me it was a nudist beach?!" I shrieked quietly at him.

"I didn't even know there _were_ nudist beaches in this country!" he hissed, "I mean, I know that there are _some_ in the most southern water villages… but that's more due to their ancient culture… but I didn't realize that there were any _here._" He shuddered, "I didn't realize it was so…_ popular."_

"Me neither," I said, looking at the beach, or more, it's occupants, who were beginning to notice the two strangely acting people not too far off. "I just…" Great, we're probably insulting them all. "Well now that we're here…"

Sasuke's eyes widened, "No _way, _Grace, don't even think—put that back on!"

"Huh?" I asked as I removed the towel from around my waist, "It's just a towel."

His face turned red, "I thought you were going to… you know… _continue…"_

I snickered, "You _wish_."

His face turned redder.

"But now that I think about it, we probably _do_ seem odd with having our clothes on…"

"Grace…" Sasuke said warningly, a somewhat desperate twinge in his voice, "Please don't—"

I didn't wait for him to finish. I reach back and began to fumble with the string at the base of my neck that was the sole knight that guarded my bikini top, and more importantly, what was underneath. Sasuke, however, was faster. As soon as I let go of the strings and grabbed them and pulled them back, so fast that I almost yelped. He held them there, his arm outstretched in a funny way, half leaning over. He didn't have time to move his feet, so he just reached out.

"Uh…" I said, "What are you doing?"

"What are _you _doing?" He asked. "What were _thinking_ taking off your top! What if someone _saw_ you?"

I shrugged, trying to ignore the strange feeling of my top being particularly taut as I moved with Sasuke holding it up in the back. "What's to feel embarrassed about?" I asked, "Everyone else is wearing a bathing suit, so it's normal."

"But…" Sasuke said, glancing in _everyone else_'s direction, "I mean, it's _not_ normal…"

I sighed, "Sasuke, what's more normal than the human body for what it is? That's like saying that… I don't know, the _sun_ isn't normal."

"That's not what I mean," Sasuke said, blushing, "What I mean is that it's not normal to go around _flaunting_ your body…"

"Ok," I said, "I get your point. Then let's just head back, ok? Could you retie my top?"

He nodded, but then it was… you know… like déjà vu because, due to our positioning, and Sasuke being so far away and arm out at an awkward angle, and not wanting to let go of my top… he ended up twisting towards me and forward, and I automatically tried to catch him but it didn't really work out the way either of us planned because we ended up falling towards the ground. It's amazing how hard sand is when you hit it with force. "Oww…" I mumbled. Feeling the pain before I felt the weight on me. That's when I realized Sasuke had _fallen_ on me. His hand was under my neck, either still holding onto the string or to protect my neck I'm not sure. From trying to grab him to stop his fall my arms were around his own neck. We stared at each other mutual shock.

"This keeps happening," was the only thing I could think of.

Then in a second the horror and embarrassment hit us and Sasuke flew off me and stood up, brushing himself off and then turning around when I stood up and the top fell off again. "Damn it!" I said, "What's with this suit! It always falls off whenever something like that happens! You know, stuff like that keeps on happening, way more than with most people… I wonder why…"

I bent down and grabbed the top and fitted it to my body, then held it there and walked over to Sasuke, "Can you tie it now?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Look," I said, "I'm not groping myself, I'm just holding it there."

He shook his head and walked around to my back and then tied the top.

"Thanks," I said and I flicked my hair at him, grinned, then suggested we turn back toward the… _ahem_…normal side of the beach.

On our way back, Sasuke said, "I still can't believe that there's a nudist beach here, I mean… I've never _heard_ of one being there."

"I wonder if it's new?"

"Can those things even be _formed_?" he asked, "I thought those sort of things just were so people didn't change them."

"Maybe." I said, "There were nudist beaches where I can from."

He glanced at my curiously, "Where _did_ you come from? Now that I think of it, you've never mentioned it before."

"I… uh…" I said, rubbing my head, nervously, "I come from… a place far, far away."

"Like a fairy tale," he grinned.

"That's right," I said, "And I'm the princess!" I linked arms at him, "And Sakura and Tenten are my handmaiden, Naruto and Konohamaru the jesters, and _you're_ my knight in shining armor!"

He smiled at that.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So…" Ryuichi said, a cunning little smile on his face, "How was your little stroll?"

"Bastard." I muttered.

"WHAT?!" Lee shrieked, "Grace and Sasuke went on a sunset walk along with beach!?" he wailed.

"Hold on a second," I said, "First of all, it wasn't a _sunset_ walk, because it's not sunset yet!"

"Oh," he brightened, "Well, that's hopeful."

"For what?" I wondered out loud quietly to myself.

"He's probably to re-animate his… you know, sunset… with his sensei… with you," Sasuke said, "With the waves."

"Ah," I said, "Well," I said, "I suspect that from now on you'll keep that from happening."

"I'll do my best." He said.

"So how was your walk?" Naruto asked as he approached.

"Just fine for your information," I sniffed, "It's really none of your business."

"Now that lunch is finally over," Ryuichi said, dryly eyeing Choji as the kid ate the last of what they had packed for lunch, "Anyone want ice cream?"

"Whoa!" Naruto said, "You packed ice cream?"

"Sure did!"

"It's probably melted," I said.

"Nope," Ryuichi grinned, "You forget who you're dealing with. I used an ice jutsu to keep it cold."

"Personally I think that's a waist of energy—"

"AWESOME!" Naruto cut me off.

Ryuichi opened a cooler and took it out. He looked like a little kid, seriously, I think he's more excited than Naruto, and Naruto was _pretty_ excited.

"What kinds are they?" Naruto asked.

I think ice cream must either be expensive or rare or both, because the way people acted it seemed so. But I've seen a few venders for it… so maybe it's just the normal ice cream hype.

"What kind of ice cream do you like?" I asked Sasuke.

"I don't like ice cream." He said.

"_What?!_" I asked in shock, "How can you not like ice cream?"

"I just don't like ice cream," he shrugged, "What's wrong with that?"

"Well," I said, "_My_ favorite is cookie dough."

He made a slight face at the thought.

"Aw," Naruto said, "They don't have that, Grace."

"What?" I glared at Ryuichi, "Why is it you have every flavor except _my_ favorite?"

"I forgot," he grinned sheepishly.

I sighed. "Whatever your problem is today I _really_ don't want to know what you're planning next…" I then proceeded to ask for a mint chocholate chip, that being my second favorite, and began to eat it, I glanced at Sasuke. "Are you sure you don't want one? Just to cool off? You can have a vanilla?"

He glanced up at the sun, "I suppose I'll have a vanilla—"

Before he could finish Ryuichi pushed a vanilla ice cream cone under his nose. "Tada!" he said.

"Wow!" I said, "That was fast!"

He smirked, "Of course, I take pride in my cooking/ice cream scooping skills."

"Too bad you're a ninja," I said, "You'd have made a better cook."

"That's why I have a restaurant." He said.

"Whoa, wait a second," I said, "I thought you had a book store."

He opened his eyes and glanced at me with those strange dark blue eyes of his, then said, "So? I have both."

I just stared at him, "Is that true?" I gasped, "I never knew! Why didn't you tell me?"

He shrugged, "Never thought about it, but why do you think I always bring you take out whenever the cook or myself aren't cooking?"

"Why," I said dryly, "Do you always pretend to suck at cooking and make such a big mess when you're actually good?"

"It's fun to see your reaction," he shrugged.

"You suck," I said, taking a bite out of my ice cream and then moaning when the coke hit my teeth. I'll just lick it from now on.

"You having fun _licking that ice cream cone_?" Naruto asked.

"I don't even want to know what you're insinuating." I snapped. I peered at Sasuke, who hadn't, as of yet, touched his ice cream. He was glaring at it, as if deciding whether to lick it or destroy it. He tentatively stuck his tongue out and stuck it on the ice cream, and then his tongue retreated into his mouth and an unsatisfied expression on his face. He didn't try to taste it again. I sighed. Jeez, what's wrong with him?

"Come on." I said, grabbing him by the elbow and dragging him in one direction, "Let's go over there."

He nodded and came with me, reluctantly carrying his ice cream. Since he obviously disliked it he just let his arm hang down, holding the ice cream near his thigh, like he didn't even care if it fell out of the cone and onto the sand. Once we got outside the crowd, however, I was finished with my ice cream. "Darn," I said, staring at the last bite of cone, "It's always gone right when you start to enjoy it!"

"That's what you get for eating so fast," he smirked, "You should eat slower and—"

I crouched and took a look from his ice cream, which he was still holding. He stopped speaking immediately and just stared at me, probably wondering what the hell I was doing. His head turned a strange shade of purple pink, and I wondered if he was angry. That's strange, I mean I always knew the Uchiha were territorial, but I didn't realize he'd get this angry over a lick of ice cream… heh… I licked it again, grinning up at his now thoroughly red face. He opened his mouth to speak but didn't say anything. Finally he looked away and as I stood up, he shoved the ice cream in my direction. "Just ask for it next time," he mumbled before stalking off.

Wow, who knew he'd get so angry over an ice cream?

"What was that all about?" Sakura asked, walking up to me with her own strawberry ice-cream. Aw, how cute! It's pink just like her hair and her bikini! Wow, Sakura is just… pink!

"Just annoying Sasuke," I said, taking another lick out of his ice cream. He was pretty far off now. He sat down. I didn't bother going to see him, after all, when you piss Sasuke off the last thing you should do is go and annoy him, and I know because I _always_ annoy him. I'll just ignore him for a while.

"I'm going to go tan a little," I said, walking in the opposite direction of Sasuke and finding a towel (I forgot mine at the nudist beach, but I sure wasn't going to go back to get it) and lay down. Have you ever noticed how sleepy you get when lying in the sun? It's so… peaceful and warm…

I felt someone nudging me and opened my eyes to see Shikamaru prodding my side with his foot. "What a drag…" he said, "Why _I'd_ have to come wake you up? Sasuke would have loved to do it."

He stopped prodding me and folded his arms, glaring softly down at me. "Well, are you getting up?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, "I just lay down."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "You know, for the main character, you're a pretty dull-witted person… _man_, what a drag."

I ignored him and sat up. Then I finally got to my feet. I realized I must have been sleeping for a while, because my body felt stiff and heavy. Wait a second… what did Shikamaru mean by 'main character'? I'd have to ask him later. Right now… I glanced at the water, where people were preparing the boat. Looks like they want to go out. I glanced at the sun, looks like I managed to sleep for a really long time. I looked down and saw that was a few shades darker, and slightly pinker, than I was when I lay down. "Crap," I muttered, "I should have put more sun screen on." I sighed, and followed the already leaving Shikamaru towards the boat.

"The princess finally awakens," Ryuichi called from his position on the boat. Apparently as the self-proclaimed captain that meant that all he had to do is direct the others in what they had to do. So he sat there in complete luxury as the Genin did all the work. Lazy ass. He waved towards the others, obviously indicating that I join them.

I shook my head stubbornly, "If _you're_ not doing anything than _I'm_ not doing anything!"

He looked shocked and insulted, "Hey!" he said, "_I_ cooked lunch! _And_ I bought everyone ice cream! _AND_ I've been putting up with all of you today!"

"Oh just snap out of it," I snapped, "You volunteered. You'd rather do this than work anyway!"

He shrugged but didn't disagree.

The lazy ass.

He's lazy in a different and worse way than Shikamaru, Shikamaru at least _works_ sometimes.

I went and decided to help them anyway, after all, what's the point of just standing there watching?

By the time we all got into the boat, it was almost dark out, and the water was even darker. The water was dark before, but now it looked black, and I hoped the boat didn't capsize. "How far out will we go?" I asked Ryuichi.

He shrugged, "Middle of the lake," he said, "We're on a lake so there's no real worry. We just have to make sure that we don't run aground on some of the few shoals around the little islands.

"Then WHY are we going out at night?" I snapped.

He winked at me, "It's more romantic this way, my love."

I slapped his hand away from my cheek, "You're ten years older than me, perverted old man."

He whimpered mockingly and then trotted off to annoy someone else. Seriously, he's worse than we are, and _we're_ the teenagers. I suppose it's true what they say about men not maturing until they reach fifty.

"Grace! Grace!" Naruto said, running up to me, "What should we do?"

"You're bored already?" I asked, surprised, "You have the worst attention span _ever_."

"Huh?"

"Never mind," I said, "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know!" he shouted gleefully, then ran off.

"What's to be so gleeful about?" I muttered. I turned to see Shikamaru leaning against the railing, staring at the sunset, his hands in his pockets and a relaxed expression on his face. I joined him but didn't say anything, instead, for once, I looked in the direction that he was looking, and saw how beautiful the sunset was. It was like someone took colors and threw them onto a canvas, then turned it from a jumbled mess into a beautiful collage of memories. "It's beautiful," I said simply.

He grinned, "Yeah."

There was a moment, until I said, "What did you mean earlier, calling me a 'main character'?"

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, and frowned. "You're an idiot," he said, "You really are."

I frowned at this comment and opened my mouth to protest but he turned back to the sunset and the lights and colors reflected upon his face and I was instead absorbed in that instead of being angry with him. Shikamaru is actually, if you can get back his laid back attitude and someone aggravating personality, a cool guy. I grinned, I think he appreciates beauty; he's that kind of guy. But somehow… I glanced at the sunset again, I think he's the kind of guy who appreciates beauty of the heart.

"I THOUGHT OF SOMETHING!" Naruto yelled at the top of his voice.

Whatever special moment Shikamaru and I just shared was immediately shattered in that instant.

"Naruto!" I hissed, "Way to ruin the mood!"

"What an annoying kid," Shikamaru muttered, walking off.

I sighed. So much for getting close to Shikamaru. Opportunity to become friends… lost.

What now? "What did you think of?" I asked tiredly.

"It's such a good idea," he squealed, almost shaking in excitement.

A few more people shuffled over until the only people not present was Ryuichi (who was steering the boat) and Shikamaru, whom I think no one expects to socialize with us. "So what's this good idea?" Tenten asked as she sat down with everyone else. It's amazing that we all fit, and we weren't exactly in a circle, but more of an oval that fitted the sides of the boat. I found my place next to Sasuke, and saw, with irritation, that Ino was also sitting next to him.

There was a lantern in the middle, and it appeared to be locked down or something, because although the boat had a slight constant rock to it the lantern moved with the boat rather than rolling around. Naruto stood up and but a flashlight under his chin, turned it on, and grinned evilly. "To start the events tonight… we shall do something everyone dreads, something everyone hates, something EVERYONE is afraid of—"

"Just get on with it you idiot," Sasuke snapped.

I have to say, I'm somewhat curious if _Naruto_ managed to come up with something that was _all_ those things. I mean, as long as it isn't something like, watch Lee dance in a Speedo or something, which _I_ would personally dread, hate and be afraid of.

"We're playing…" Naruto paused in his dramatic short speech to glance at each person, which took a pretty long time because there were a lot of us and eventually lost is creepiness, "TRUTH OR DARE."

There was a mixed reaction. Some, like Neji, scowled and left, and some, like Ino, eyeing Sasuke greedily, squealed with excitement. Sasuke looked irritated and moved as if to leave, glanced at me, seemed to think better of it, and then just sat, rigid with annoyance. "Wonderful idea!" Sakura clapped. I saw Tenten and her glance at me with evil grins and I suddenly knew that I was going to regret playing this game. But… I'm not about to drop out. To tell you the truth, the only person who left was Neji, but there were a few, like Hinata, who looked like they wished they _could_ leave.

Now that I think of it, although I realize I'll probably be the main victim… this game does have its perks.

"Now who's going to go first?" Naruto asked.

"This will take forever." I whispered to Sasuke.

He rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I'm even playing this stupid game." He muttered.

"Then why are you here?" I asked, "Leave then, like Neji."

"Someone has to keep an eye on you." He said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped, "Are you saying I'm not trustworthy?"

"Not against you," he explained, "I have to make sure no one…"

I really didn't get what he was talking about. "So who's going?" I asked.

There was a pause, and then Ino shook her hand wildly in the air. "I have one!" She squealed.

I frowned at her. Doesn't she shut up? Naruto pouted at having Ino go first but sat down and, at Sakura's insisting, reluctantly turned his flashlight off.

Ino peered around the group, looking for a victim, and my gut lurched when her eyes finally rested on me. Great, just what I need, Ino to embarrass me in front of everyone. What would she do? What would she say? What would she make me _do_?

"Grace," She said, "Truth or dare?"

"Eh…" Which one? WHICH ONE? Truth, in which my whole soul will be wrenched out for the world to laugh at, or dare, in which the world with just laugh anyway? Which was worse? It's not a matter of which is better, because both are worse, which is worse and which is worst? Because I'm definitely going with worse. "Dare." DAMN IT! I was supposed to say truth! "I mean truth."

"You can't change you mind," Ino smirked.

"Sadly," Tenten said, "It's true, you can't change your mind after you said it."

I felt like I had just thrown myself down a bottomless pit. I closed my eyes, waiting for the worst.

"I dare you… to kiss Neji!" she said.

Everyone gasped, even me. "What?!" Sasuke and I both said in unison, although I more I shock while he in outright anger.

Naruto and Tenten and Sakura looked at each other in disappointment and I chuckled nervously, "You're not serious, are you?"

"Dead serious," she said, in an almost frighteningly serious tone.

I looked behind me and at Neji, who was looking at the water and apparently unaware of his part in the dare. "I guess I have to do it," I said, and stood up.

"Wait Grace!" Sasuke said, standing up with me and grabbing my hand. He looked panicked, "You don't have to do that, you can just back out—"

"I don't back out of dares." I said. I took a breath and walked over to where Neji was. "Hey Neji!" I didn't really have to say hi since he saw me coming before I even approached him. Those Hyuga have good peripheral vision. "Um, how are you?"

He eyed me suspiciously, "What do you want?" he sure gets to the point.

"Um…" I looked back at the group of people who were all staring at us. "I guess I want… um…" I might as well get it over with. Ino didn't specify what kind of kiss it was, so the cheek should suffice. I leaned inwards, quickly, so he wouldn't have time to back away, and went for a kiss on his right cheek.

"Wait!" I heard Sasuke's voice behind me and felt something on my back, a hand, and turned to my left slightly in surprise.

Everything was utterly quiet for almost an entire minute while Neji and I stared into each other's eyes in shock and horror. Both Neji and I had turned toward each other at the appearance of Sasuke and resulted not in my kissing his cheek but in us… like… _kissing…_

We both leaned backwards, to shell shocked to say anything, but instead stared at each other and complete shock and a strange understanding.

"I…" I said, touching my lips softly with my hand as I tried to figure out just what had happened.

I felt a burning behind me and looked, and suddenly wished I didn't. Sasuke looked… if looks could, Neji and I would be dead right now. I was too shell shocked to be too perturbed by it. People were suddenly surrounding us. "I can't believe you did that!" Sakura exclaimed in wonder.

"Neji!" Lee yelled, "Yet another reason why you're my ultimate rival! You stole a kiss from Grace!"

"I can't believe…" I said, "That was my first real kiss…"

Naruto, Sakura and Tenten looked at each other in horror, then back at me. Sasuke's body looked almost red with anger, and his eyes were red with the sharingan. Man, the Uchiha sure know how to look pissed. But you know? I'm not even sorry. That kiss was… nice. I glanced apologetically at Neji, who was glaring at me now with anger almost as intense as Sasuke's. I shook my hair and walked back to the lantern and sat down.

"Very nice," Ino said as she sat next to me, "I never expected you to actually kiss him."

"And?" I asked as people began to sit around us.

"How was it?" she whispered, leaning in.

"Huh?" I frowned, "I don't really know, it _was_ my first kiss."

Ino made sure Sasuke was about to sit down to continue, "So how was your _first kiss_ with _Neji_?"

I felt Sasuke stiffen next to me.

"Actually…" I said, "I enjoyed it."

"You did?" she asked, surprise in her voice.

"Yes is did," I said, "It's not how I imagined my first kiss to be, but… now that it's done… I think that… it was a pretty good first kiss."

Sasuke was practically shaking with anger, and for some reason, that was someone satisfying. I grinned, "Now It's my turn! Ok… let's see… hmm…" who should I torture? Who should I torture…? "Lee!" I said.

"I will do anything for you!" he cried.

"Truth or dare?" I asked.

"Dare," he said, "For I dare to do anything for your heart's content!"

Silence…

"Ok, moving on," I said, "I dare you…"

"Yes?" He urged eagerly.

"I dare you…"

"YES?" He urged even more eagerly.

"I dare you to…"

"Just hurry," Ino whined.

"I don't know!" I cried, "I'm drawing a blank!"

"Want to give up your turn?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," I said, relieved, "I'll give it to… hm… Kiba."

Damn, that might not have been smart.

Kiba smirked, "Why thank you, Grace." He glanced around the room, then said, "Ino." He said, grinning evilly. Ino frowned and glared slightly at the boy. The two never did get along too well. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." She said, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.

"Have a cat fight with Sakura." Kiba smirked.

"What?" both girls said in unison.

"You heard me, a cat fight, a _real_ cat fight."

"That means," Naruto interpreted, "It's got to be—"

"Look," I said, cutting in, "I made a mistake saying that Kiba could be next. Let's not have anything that's violent, ok?"

"Too late now," Tenten muttered, glancing at Sasuke, who was still seething silently next to me.

"Anyway, Kiba, please something a little less violent." I continued.

Kiba sighed. Then he said, "Fine, I dare…. Ino to… take off her bikini top."

"You pervert," I said as Ino's jaw dropped.

"No way!" She said, "No way in hell!"

"Look," Kiba said, "you have to do it now!"

"No she doesn't!" I said. "If _I_ had to take off my bikini top Sasuke would have stopped me and so for the same reason I think that we shouldn't allow stripping either."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" kiba asked, staring at me, "What the hell do you think Truth or Dare is for?"

He had a point… but still, however underdeveloped Ino was at thirteen years of age, I still didn't want to see her breasts, and most likely most of the people present didn't either. Kiba was the only one perverted and stupid enough to make that mistake, as proved earlier today in the water.

"Fine." He spat.

God, what a creep.

"Ok," I said, "Maybe this game isn't really working out that much."

"That is correct."

We all turned in shock towards someone near the end of the circle, someone almost clouded in shadows. Shino sat there. "There are too many rules and possible errors for this game to occur naturally in a way that friends can play with each other. I suggest a different sort of game."

"And how's that?" I asked, still shocked by the fact that he spoke, let alone that he was interested in what we were doing.

"What subject has been popular as of late this evening? I will tell you, it has been obvious to me that the game that would be most popular involves this," he produced a bottle.

"What's that for?" Sakura asked.

"Oh. My. God." I said, "You have got to be kidding to be kidding me…"

"I am not joking." He said simply.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Kiba said, "I'm not objecting to the idea!"

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?"

"It's called spin the bottle," I said, my gut sinking at the prospect. Who knew Shino would be so sadistic? I just hope that no one is interested… oh wait, look who's present, of COURSE they'll be interested… Ijsut really hope it either _never_ lands on me or we get bored of it before it's my turn. That or I can say I've already kissed someone tonight so we can just skip me… God, why did Shino have to say this?!?

"Oh!" Ino squealed, "This will be so much fun!"

"I'll pass," I said, getting up, but Ino grabbed me by the arm and I was suddenly aware why she was a ninja. _Man_ that girl is strong! I landed on my butt hard. "What was that for?" I snapped. "I don't want to play!"

"Too bad," She said, "You're the host!"

Damn… she was right.

"You don't have to play, Grace," Sasuke said, breaking away from his furious stupor to look at me.

"It's ok, really," I said, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."I turned and glared at Ino, "You're going to pay," I mouthed.

"First person." Shino said, "I'll spin the bottle and whoever it lands on will be the first person. They will then spin the bottle and whomever it then lays on will be the person whom they will have to kiss."

"But that means…" Sakura said, "That it might land on a girl—I mean, someone of your gender."

Everyone glanced awkwardly around at each other, wondering if the worst _was_ to happen, what _would_ happen, and if the _worst_ was to happen, whom they would prefer?

"This is sick," I said, "Didn't you guys get sick satisfaction out of seeing me kiss Neji? Why do we have to do this?"

"Just one round then," Ino said.

"Fine." I said.

Shino spun the bottle. It was one of those things in which everything it comes around your side of the circle you think _"Please don't land on me Please don't land on me Please don't land on me" _a thousand times in your head until it passes.

I breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't land on me. Instead, it landed on Sasuke.

I noticed with amusement how the eyes of every girl immediately perked, even Sakura and Tenten's. This will be fun. But then again, I was sort of worried, I mean, was Sasuke really going to have to kiss another girl? I mean, he's just… so _young_… I guess… Oh, what if he has to kiss a boy? I wish I had a camera…

Sasuke reached for the bottle, sending Shino a glare that probably could have shriveled up all the bugs in that sadistic boy, and spun the bottle. It slowed, and for once I wasn't panicking every time it came close to landing on me. It finally landed on…

Everyone erupted in laughter. Ino scowled, but I just howled. It was one of those situations in which one thinks: "This couldn't be real, right?"

"No way in hell." Sasuke spat.

"Like _hell_ I'm going to do _that_," Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Yeah!" Ino yelled, "They're both boys so they don't have to do it!"

"Besides," I laughed, "Sasuke and Naruto have already kissed!"

There was silence until those who were present remembered said events and started laughing, while Tenten and Lee just stared at me with shock on their faces. I keep forgetting that they were in the year ahead of Sasuke and Naruto. "What?" Tenten said, "Naruto and Sasuke _kissed?_"

"It wasn't a kiss!" Naruto shrieked hysterically, panicking, "It was an accident!"

Sasuke was just glaring at me continuously with fire in his eyes for bringing it up. I grinned and stuck my tongue out at him.

I stood up, "This game isn't going to be any fun." I said. "Let's play a different game."

"We're going through games awfully fast," Sakura said, "How can you get bored so easily?"

"Um…" I said, "I guess I don't like playing socially awkward games, like kissing games or truth or dare."

"But that's what people _do_ when they hang out," Ino said.

"We could just talk," I pointed out to the thirteen year old.

She pouted.

"An excellent idea," Sasuke said, standing up, grabbing my arm and dragging me away before Naruto could open his mouth with another suggestion for what they could do. We left them there and from the sound of them, it was a game that was probably similar to spin the bottle and the like.

"What's the matter with you?" I asked him when he finally let go.

"I don't want you playing those games," he said, not looking at me but instead looking at the night sky. The stars were just starting to appear in the dark canvas.

I smiled and leaned my head softly against his shoulder. I felt his muscles ripple under the skin as his arm adjusted to the feeling of my weight on it. "Thanks," I said, "I'm glad that you took me away."

He didn't answer and instead looked at me softly. "I hope you'll always think that," he said.

"What?" I asked. What did he mean; he thought I'd always be glad he took me away? That's strange. I wonder if he's not feeling well.

"Nothing." He said, returning his gaze to the sky.

"Sasuke…" I said.

"What is it?"

"GRACE!" Someone yelled from behind me and I shrieked and Sasuke went rigid when Naruto jumped on my back, sending me forward. Naruto grinned happily and pulled my hair softly, "Come on, play with us! We want you and Sasuke to play!"

"Aw, come _on_," I said, "We already played enough games!"

"This is a different game," Naruto grinned, "This game involves two people!"

"So have the other games," I muttered, trying to push myself up but Naruto was too heavy.

"No, you and Sasuke will be a _team_," Naruto said.

"Oh," I said, "So it's _that_ kind of game."

"Yup!" Naruto grinned, "So what do you say?"

"Fine," I said, "Sasuke?"

He sighed, "Fine."

"There you go," I said, "You've caught us."

"Yay!" Naruto yelled, jumping off me. Sasuke came over and helped me up, even though I didn't really need the help.

We walked over to see everyone giving us strange and rather evil looks. "What did we get ourselves into?" I asked Sasuke out of the corner of my mouth. Sakura stood at the door of the cabin (which wasn't that big, actually, just large enough for two people to sit it, so it was more of a storage compartment). "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Get on in," She said.

"No." I said.

"Why not?" she asked.

"I don't know what's in store for us!" I said, you could be planning anything!"

"False," Tenten said, "We have to get ready for when the game starts, so for right now, the two of you need to get in here so you don't see anything."

"Oh," I said, "That makes sense. Come on Sasuke."

I climbed into the compartment, and sat at one end and Sasuke followed me and sat at the other end. With our legs pulled up and our knees near our faces our feet were only a foot away from touching. "It's really cramped in here." I said.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, worriedly as Tenten closed the door.

Then, suddenly, our heads spun towards the door as we heard a lock. "What the hell?" I yelled, "What did you guys lock the door for?"

"Surprise!" I heard Naruto yell from the other surprise, "You guys were tricked!"

I felt my gut lurching again. "You have GOT to be kidding me!" I yelled, banging my fist against the door. "Let us OUT!"

"Not for seven more minutes!" I heard Sakura say.

"No…" I said, as realization washed over me, "You don't expect us to actually _do_ anything, right? RIGHT?" No one answered. I slumped against my side of the compartment. "Just great," I said, "I should have _known_ not to trust Naruto. Well, from now on, that's the _last_ time I trust him!"

I could just barely make Sasuke out. He was sitting there, looking irritable, but he also had… oh no, he's blushing! Is he angry or something? "Don't worry," I said, "I don't want to do anything, I'm just as upset about being stuck with you as you are with me, ok?"

He sighed dejectedly and put his head on his knees.

Now he's really angry with me… why do I keep messing up? I keep trying to convince him I only have good and pure intentions towards him and he keeps getting madder! This is really frustrating! I can't stand it anymore! ARGGGGG!

_As it happens… on the outside of the compartment_

"That was brilliant!" Tenten exclaimed. "Naruto was right, though, they would never agree to playing seven minutes in heaven unless we tricked them!"

"Six minutes, 12 seconds, six minutes, 11 seconds, six minutes 10 seconds," Lee was whispering fervently.

"How pitiful," Kiba muttered to Tenten and Sakura, "Is he really that upset that he's counting? YO! Lee! We have a timer right here!"

"WHAT IS THIS?" Lee spun towards them, "Have my ears deceived me? Have you guys been planning to have my precious Grace and that lecher Sasuke together in this wretched game?"

"You just caught on?" Sakura asked dryly.

"Yeah," Tenten said, "If you weren't too busy counting down the seconds you might have been able to catch on faster and prevent it!"

"No!" Lee said, rushing over to the door to the compartment and fumble with the lock, "Don't worry my love, I will release you soon enough—" Before he could start unlocking it Tenten and Kiba rushed over and dragged him away.

"Dude!" Kiba said, "So not cool!"

"Yeah," Tenten said, "I never thought you were the kind to cheat!"

"But…" Lee sniffed.

"It's all in the timer," Tenten said, "They have to stay in there until the clock says that seven minutes are up."

Lee grinned evilly and snatched the old watch from Tenten, he then grabbed the little mini bars that controlled the how fast the hands go. "Then I'll just speed up the clock!"

"What are you doing!" Tenten screeched, "Give that back!" She snatched it and turned the knobs so the clock went slower.

"Well now it's going slower than ever!" Lee cried, snatching it away from him again and turning the knob so the clock went fast again.

"You idiot!" Tenten yelled, grabbing it from him again, "I'm just putting it back to where it was before!" She turned the clock slower.

Naruto grabbed it from her, "But that's a good idea!" he said, "We should make it really _really_ slow so that the two of them have to stay there even _longer_!"

"No!" Lee cried as Naruto began to fumble with the knobs. "Give it back!"

"No!" Naruto yelled as he jumped out of Lee's reach. He jumped up and landed on the mast.

"Be careful!" Ryuichi yelled from below.

Lee appeared, standing on the sail, balancing quite… well, let's just say it's surprising he managed to stay up.

"YOU IDIOTS!" Ryuichi yelled, "What the HELL are you two doing?"

They ignored him. "Come and get it!" Naruto taunted. Lee lunged for him but before he managed to get to him Naruto threw it down at top speed and Kiba jumped up and grabbed it. Kiba threw it towards Sakura when Lee jumped down and landed next to him. Sakura giggled and threw it towards Tenten, who attached it to a kunai and threw it back up to Naruto when Lee appeared next to her.

"Damn!" He exclaimed, "I'm just too slow!"

Naruto grinned and jumped down and landed on the deck, "Well, what are you going to do? Huh? I think we should just stop the clock!"

"NOOOOO!!" Lee cried and he lunged for Naruto. For some reason, Naruto was too busy trying to figure out how to stop the watch that he wasn't prepared for Lee to make an attack. He yelled as he was pushed backwards.

It almost seemed like slow motion as everyone, including Naruto and Lee as the watch flew out of Naruto's hands, over the railing, and plopped into the dark water.

Everyone rushed to the side of the boat, but the boat had already passed the place where the watch fell.

"Well," Tenten said, somewhat shakily, "I guess that settles things."

_As it happens… on the inside of the compartment…_

"So now what?" I asked, "I mean what are we going to do now? Not that I _want_ to do anything, ok?" I said in a rush.

He didn't answer. Instead, he stared directly at the door. Oh… he must be really angry about being in here with me… "Look Sasuke," I said, "I'm sure the time will go fast than it feels like it will, I mean, it'll be like a blink of an eye and they'll be opening the door and you won't have to be stuck in here with me anymore!"

He sighed again.

Crap! Why do I keep messing up? What am I doing wrong?

Then, something that I probably, under the circumstances, should have expected, happened. The boat rocked. I yelled in surprise as Sasuke was thrown over to my side of the compartment.

We stared at each other in shock. It was sort of like déjà vu all over again, like this sort of thing has happened before, but that's just strange because I don't have any memory of something like that… wait a minute… but I was distracted from these thoughts by the fact that Sasuke was _lying_ on me. Why the HELL does this keep happening to Sasuke and me? It's like we're cursed or something!

But I was still distracted by the fact that he was _lying_ on me. His weight was crushing, but it wasn't unbearable. In fact… much to my shock, I found myself enjoying it. What the hell is wrong with me? Wake up! This has got to be some kind of weird perverted dream I'm having! I felt Sasuke's hands go to my sides, and the feel of his hands on me was so alarming and pleasing that I think my eyes widened, but he lifted his hands away from side and instead put them on either side of me, instead of touching me. I sort of… missed the feeling, however short and fleeting it was.

His face was characteristically serious, but it was a different kind of serious that always scowled his face.

His face leaned towards mine, and I realized that he was going to kiss me.

I closed my eyes. I _wanted _this, I realized. I could feel his breath on my lips, and I know that he could feel mine on his. I could even feel the pressure of his lips, even though our lips weren't touching yet, that's how close we were. His hands found my waist again, and then, just as he went for the final move…

The boat rocked and sent him flying away from me. He hit the other side rather hard. I lay there, stunned. Staring at the ceiling. I was also in some pain because he was now sitting on my feet, but other than that, I was fine.

Now that I think of it, maybe it's a good thing that we didn't actually kiss… although for some reason I'm regretting that the boat rocked.

He looked at me and I looked at him and there was sort of a connection between us. I leaned forward, and he did as well. Perhaps… perhaps we were going to kiss after all. I leaned even farther, putting almost all the distance between us away. The door flew open and the two of us spun away from each other to see Lee standing at the doorway. "The time is up!" he said.

Sasuke glared at him and I just sighed with relief. Like I said earlier, maybe it's better if Sasuke and I _don't _kiss.

I got out first, and then Sasuke came out.

"So what happened?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto smirked, "I want _all_ the dirty details!"

"You're perverted," I muttered.

"And proud of it." Naruto boasted, "So, what happened?"

"Tell us," Tenten said, grinning.

"No!" Lee cried, "I don't want to know! I don't want to know!"

"Ignore him," Tenten said dryly. "He's just in denial."

"Nothing happened," I sighed, "We didn't do anything."

"Are you friggin' kidding me?" Naruto yelled, "The first brilliant idea I've ever had and you just blow it off!? Don't you have any appreciation? You make me _sick_." He spat and stalked off.

"Who the hell gave him acting lessons?" I asked.

"He's been practicing that line for a while, I think." Sakura pointed out.

"So _that's_ what he was doing before we left." I said with a new understanding. So the little creep had planned this out before we had even left on the trip to the beach…. What a creep. I turned to Sasuke, "Um…"

He looked away.

"Well," I said, "I'm going to go hang out with Sakura and Tenten.

"Fine." He said, turning around and walking away.

Now he's in an even _worse_ mood… That Sasuke is always moody.

"So what _really_ happened?" Sakura asked.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I mean, what _really_ happened in there?" she asked again, "I know you weren't saying anything because all the guys were there, but you can tell us!"

"Nothing happened," I repeated myself, "I'm serious."

"Fine," Tenten shrugged, "Don't tell us, but until you do tell us we're just going to assume something _did_ happen."

Those girls…

"Fine," I said, "We _almost_ kissed. Twice."

"You kissed twice?" Sakura squealed.

"Nope." I said, "We almost kissed twice."

"So how did that happen?" Tenten asked.

"Well," I began, "do you remember that big… well, I assume it was a wave?"

"Yeah," Tenten said, "The whole boat rocked."

"Yeah," I said, "Well, it made Sasuke land on me—get that look off your face," I snapped at Sakura, "Well, anyway, it made Sasuke fall on me and we almost kissed and then before we could the boat rocked back and he fell off of me and then the second time was after that and we almost kissed again but that was when Lee opened the—what?"

"What?" Tenten asked.

"Did you say something?" I asked.

"No…" Sakura said.

"Then did you _hear_ anything?" I asked.

"Hear _what_?" Tenten asked.

"Hear _that_," I said. Someone was calling me. I turned around, "What is it?" I called to whomever it was that was calling me. But they didn't answer. Instead, those who stood near me gave me peculiar looks. I blushed and looked back at Sakura and Tenten, who were also giving me strange looks. "Sorry," I said, "I just could have sworn that I heard someone calling my name."

"Are you feeling alright?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah," I said, "I just… that was—there it goes again!"

"Just ignore it," Sakura said, "It's probably Naruto getting back at you or something."

"Yeah," I said, trying to ignore it.

"Let's play a little game!" Sakura said, giggling as she and Tenten caught each other's eye.

"No…" I said, eyeing them warily, "I'm done playing games with you…"

"This one doesn't involve boys, it just involves talking."

"What kind of game is it?" I asked.

"To break the spell." Tenten whispered.

"What?" I asked.

"You have to say it to break the spell." Sakura whispered.

"Have you gone mad?" I asked. "What kind of spell?"

"Not really a spell," Sakura admitted, "More of a jutsu."

"Justsu?" I asked, "What kind?"

"It's very strong," Tenten grinned, "But I assure it's there. We noticed it earlier but didn't know how to get rid of it. Actually…" She said, "I think it was made by Jiraiya, so when we figured out how to break it we realized that only you'd be able to do it."

"What do I have to say?" I said. If it's Jiraiya's jutsu then it _is_ probably perverted… maybe _that's_ why strange things keep happening to Sasuke and I, and this _is_ Jiraiya's boat, I think, so I wouldn't be surprised. I heard my name, louder this time.

They whispered the phrase in my ear.

"No…" I said, "Do I really have to say it?"

"You _have_ to," Sakura said.

"If you do," Tenten said, "You can become a Genin."

"What…" I shook my head, "Ok, fine." I closed my eyes and then opened them and said, "I want to join bodies with you…" I said sleepily as I stared at Sasuke. I blinked. "How did you get here!" I asked.

"What are talking about." He said, "I was trying to wake you up… what kind of dream were you having? Never mind." He shook his head, "I don't want to know."

I sat up, and realized that I was in my bed. That was…

A DREAM???????????? What a weird dream!

I can't believe that I was dreaming that!

"Sasuke!" I said, "Don't get the wrong idea! When I said that it was to break a jutsu! I didn't mean I want to join bodies with _you_…" Gosh, what a perverted dream! I kissed _Neji_ in the dream and wanted to kiss _Sasuke_! I can't believe it! I shuddered.

"Whatever," he said, "I'll be outside when you're done getting dressed." He left the room.

I slumped against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. Weird. That dream was so realistic. But… towards the end there Sakura and Tenten were acting a little weird. I supposed it was my self-conscience. I got up and got dressed then ran out the door and waved goodbye to Konohamaru and Bingley, who were all bickering with Ryuichi over the last piece of bacon. I ran outside and grinned at Sasuke. "Sorry it took so long," I said, "I had a _really_ weird dream last night…"

"I guessed." He said. "So what do you want to do today?"

"Hm…" I said, "Are you sure you have time? Aren't you training with Kakashi this month?"

"I decided to take some time off." He shrugged.

"Well I'm glad you did." I said, "I haven't seen you since the preliminary exams…" I glanced at my feet as we walked. "Hey Sasuke… let's go to the beach sometime… ok?"

He glanced at me with a raised eyebrow. "Grace," he said, "Konoha doesn't _have_ any beaches…"

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THE END!

HAHA! It was a DREAM! Ha! And here ends my practical joke on my readers!

Ok, well, I hoped you enjoyed it, to tell you the truth, I was getting sick of all the mary-sue scenarios that was occurring, and I ended up cutting the chapter about three thousand words short (there was more planned but I just couldn't take it anymore.)

The "I want to join bodies with you" is a quote from the Lucky Star OVA (watch it, it's sooo funny)

Well, now that this is over I can finally devote ALL my time to writing the actual plot! I wanted to get this out of the way first, though.

The next filler chapter (singular, as in not an arc, just a bonus chapter) will be the "What's under Kakashi's Mask" episode, although that will most likely be updated no sooner than August, so don't get excited yet.

Well, got to go!

Love ya' and thanks for stickin' with the story!

fUnKyToEs


	49. The Fifth Hokage: Part XI

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part XI

WORDS: 6, 311 words

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that is copyrighted.

BEFOREWORD: Well, for once I wrote the chapter early! I like this chapter, it's a little random but important. It doesn't really go anywhere, as in, plot wise, it's not a major distance cover, in fact… it doesn't really cover any distance at all.

Well, anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it! The next chapter will be released next week!

Enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoooOoOoOooOo

I let out an exclamation of shock and turned to stare at the little creature who was smiling innocently up at me. "What are you doing?" I asked the little girl, confused by her presence.

She smiled again, this time with her teeth, showing that she was missing both of her front teeth, which always makes small children look ten times cuter. "Hi!" She exclaimed.

"Hi…" I said, exhaustedly, and then I smiled. I sat down on the ledge of the fountain and stared at her for a moment, taking her in. She had dark brown hair that was tied up in two pigtails, and blue eyes… in general, she was a very cute little girl. She was also very young, she couldn't be older than five or my name isn't Grace… That may not be a good example to use… What confuses me is how she was able to sneak up on me like that. "What's your name?" I asked softly.

"I'm four!" she said.

"That's a silly name!" I laughed. "What is your _name_?"

"Emiko!" she said.

"Oh, that's a pretty name!" I said. "My name is Grace! So you're four? And you've already lost your front teeth? That's pretty amazing!"

"Yup!" She said proudly, "I lost them 'cause I fell down!"

"Oh," I said, "That's how I lost my front teeth as well!"

"Wow!" she said, "Really?"

"Yup!" I said, "Except I was older… I think I was six… But anyway, where is your family, shouldn't you be with them?"

She blinked at me and made a cute little innocent "o" with her mouth as she contemplated what I had said. Then she grinned and said with joyfulness, "Nope!"

"I see…" I said. What kind of family did she have that they would let a little four year old girl wander around? That seems really dangerous! "Where do you live? I'll take you home."

"I don't want to go home!" She said, her face contorting from happiness to disappointment, "I want to play with you!"

"I see…" I said, "Well we can play on our way to your home, ok?"

"Ok!"

I stood up and reached for her hand with my own, which she gladly accepted. "I like you!" she said, once we started walking.

"I like you too!" I said. She really was a very cute little girl.

"I like doggies!" she said.

"I have a doggie," I informed her. "His name is Bingley."

"Bing…lee…" she said, testing the foreign word out slowly and deliberately. "Where is he!?"

"Oh," I said, "He's at the doggie hospital."

"Oh no!" she cried, "What happened to him?" I almost had to hug her she was so cute. There were even tears forming in her eyes.

"He got very hurt," I said, "He and a friend of mine."

"Is your friend a dog?" she asked me.

"No…" I laughed, "My friend is a boy. His name is Sasuke."

"Sasuke!" she said, "Is he your boyfriend?"

I stared at her, "Of course not!" I exclaimed, laughing, "Why would he be my boyfriend?"

She shrugged, "You're pretty!" She said, and by the sound of her voice I could tell that the two subjects were entirely separate.

"Why thank you, you're very pretty too… are you sure this is the way to your house?"

"I like you!" she said again, "You're my friend!"

"You're my friend too!" I said, "But you know, you shouldn't just go up to strangers all the time. Some people can be dangerous."

She stopped walking, her little hand pulling on mine to stop as well. She stared at me with wide bowlful eyes. "Dangerous?" She asked, confused.

It looks like, I thought, that this little girl was still too young to understand the concept of danger. She must have been entirely sheltered her whole life. Well, she's only four after all. I doubt any four year old could possibly understand the concept of kidnapping, or danger in general. For them, everything they see, touch or hear is their reality, everything else escapes them entirely. This little girl is still far too young to understand that there are people out there that can't be trusted. "Well," I said, "You can trust me, I'm not dangerous, see?" I pointed with my other hand at my foot. "I can't even walk very fast with that."

"What happened?" She exclaimed, seemingly to forget her trauma moments ago to crouch and stare at my foot, which, although in a cast, still looked odd, or perhaps it was because it was in a cast like brace that it looked odd.

"My toes are gone!" I said.

"So that's why it's funny!" she laughed hysterically.

I laughed too. "Yeah," I said, "it does look funny, doesn't it!"

"What happened?" She asked, looking up at me.

I was struck by how short she was, especially when crouching down. But that wasn't the problem here. How can I tell her that a demonic possessed insomniac and emotionally unstable boy strapped me to a tree using sand, nearly squeezed the life out of me and ripped my toes off for his own sadistic pleasure? That's not something _anyone_ wants to hear, four years old or not. "Um…" I began, racking my brain for a plausible answer, "They ran away!" I said finally.

Her eyes widened and her mouth made another little "o" of shock. "They _ran away_?" she said in disbelief.

"Yup," I said, "They ran away because one day, I was walking along, and I tripped. Then, when I stood up, I said, 'Why did you let me trip?' And the big toe, who was the daddy toe for that foot, said, 'Because we don't like you!' And I said, 'Well, that's not very nice!' And then the toes of that foot decided that they didn't want to be on my foot anymore, so they just ran away one night while I was sleeping!"

She just stared at me, and for a moment, I thought she might not believe me. Then she exclaimed, "That's so mean!" She poked the toes on my other foot. "So why did these toes stay?"

"Because they liked me and they were nice and didn't want me to be without _any_ toes." I fibbed.

"Oh!" She said, then she smiled at the toes, "Thank you for being so nice to her!" she told them while petting them. How cute… She stood up and stretched little arms up in the air. "Let's play!"

"First tell me which way your house is," I said.

"OH," she looked around. "I don't know."

I sighed. "I thought that might be the case." I said, "Do you remember when the last time you saw your mommy was?"

"Oh!" She said, "This morning! I was sleeping in my bed and she came and said 'Wake up!' and she came over to my bed and gave me a kiss—she always gives me kisses—and then she went downstairs to make breakfast because that's what Mommy does and then I got up and I took our Luppy and Toto and we were having a tea party and then Luppy told Toto that he wasn't being very nice to her even though she was the one who had made the not so nice joke to him and Toto got very upset and then I was very stern and I told Luppy to say she was sorry to Toto because she wasn't being very nice and then she started crying because that's what babies do when their Mommies diss-plin them but I'm a big girl now so I don't cry."

"I see…" I said, trying to make sense of what she had just said. "So who are Luppy and Toto?"

"Luppy is my rabbit and Toto is my teddy!"

"Are they toys?" I asked.

"Yeah!" She said, "I got them when I was just a baby! I was three! But now I'm four so I'm a big girl!"

"Yes," I said, "You are a big girl!"

"Let's play!" she said.

"Emiko," I said, "Do you know what your last name is?"

She smiled up at me, blinking blankly. I guess not… "So… what's your name?"

"Emiko!"

"No, your _full_ name. Mine is Grace… Edwards. What's yours?"

"Emiko!"

I sighed. "What's your mommy's name?"

"Mommy!"

I sighed again. "I see…" I looked around. Shops were just being opened. If this little girl lived here… maybe some of these people knew where she lived? I took her hand and walked over to a shop a few stalls down that the owner was just outside of, lifted the grate. "Excuse me, ma'am," I said, "Do you know where this little girl lives?"

"Huh?" The woman turned around and looked at me, "Oh my, Emiko, where is your mother?"

Thank goodness… at least this woman knows who Emiko is.

"This is my big sister!" Emiko said.

"Is that so…" The old woman said, touching her cheek with her hand, "I see… what is your name, miss?"

"Grace," I said, "Grace Edwards." Jiraiya said at this point it doesn't matter whom I pretend to be. As long as no one realizes that I'm Grace Sarutobi or Princess Haruka, we're all good.

"Grace… Edwards…" The woman said, "Both of those names are odd… are you foreign?"

"Yes," I said.

"Strange," She said, "You speak this language so well."

"Oh!" I laughed, "Well, we speak this language… where I come from, but we use a different written language so I have a hard to reading in this country."

"Oh!" The woman said, "That must make it hard… I have to say, you're quite an attractive young woman," she reached out and touched my hair, "What I wouldn't give for hair like this…"

Should I tell her it's fake?

"How long did it take to grow that out? It looks like you never cut it at all!"

"Oh!" I said, looking back at the long blonde hair behind me, "I've never _really_ cut it…" well, that's the truth, I've never cut it, not the wig, at least.

"Well, it is very beautiful… and your green eyes, you look just like a princess!" she laughed, "And that ribbon in your hair doesn't help!"

I laughed as well, "Well, anyway. I was walking and found Emiko, so would you tell me where her mother lives, please?"

"Of course!" She said, "She lives… hmm… Two roads down to the left, fifth house," she said.

"Thank you!" I said, "Come on, Emiko!"

She and I walked away. I should have realized, from the odd conversation and the key words that came up in it with that strange woman, that I should be wary, but I didn't expect anything back then…

"Two roads down…" I said. "Two roads down…"

"Two roads down! Two roads down!" Emiko sang. "Two roads down!"

I smiled at her little song, it didn't rhyme and she didn't have the best voice, but it was still cute. "Ah, here." I turned, and she began to skip.

"Fifth house…" I said.

"Fifth house! Fifth house!" she sang, changing the words but keeping her little tune that I assume she made up. "Fifth house! Fifth house!"

This little girl was just too much. "Here it is," I said. I walked up to the gate and past through, walking up to the house. I knocked on the door and a pretty woman answered. "Hello, ma'am," I said, "Is this your—"

"Mommy!" Emiko exclaimed and rushed into her mother's arms.

"Oh!" the woman said, bending over to give the little girl a hug, "Emiko! I was so worried!" she looked up apologetically, "When I went to fetch her for breakfast she was gone—she often disappears like this, she's a rather… rambunctious little girl. Thank you so much for bringing her back!"

"Don't mention it," I said, "It was my pleasure. My name is Grace Edwards."

"I'm Saya Hitomi." The woman said, bowing slightly in thanks, "Again, I thank you for taking care of my daughter. Would you like to come in for a minute? You can have breakfast with us?"

I smiled, "I'd be delighted!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You have a beautiful home," I said in awe as she led me through the door. I slipped my shoe off and then hesitated with the brace. "Excuse me, ma'am,"

"Please," the woman said, as Emiko let go of her hand and dashed, laughing hysterically, down the hall and out of sight, "Call me Saya."

"Ah… Miss Saya," I said, "Do you mind… if I keep this on?"

She glanced down at my foot, her eyebrows furrowing in curiosity, but she didn't ask.

"I injured my foot… not long ago." I said, "I still… can't walk without this."

"Of course," she said, "You don't have to ask." She glanced down the hall where Emiko disappeared, "Besides, Emiko is always tracking mud into the house, so having a grown girl is a nice change." She smiled at me, "You don't have to feel bashful about something like this."

I smiled and walked up the little step that led into the house and walked with her down the hall and into the kitchen. "Amazing!" I said, "This kitchen is so big! It reminds me of the kitchen back home…"

"Home?" She said, "Where is your home, Grace?"

"Ah," I said, should I trust this woman? "Konoha." I said. I trusted her. She was such a kind woman. "I live in Konoha, but I come from a different land."

"I was wondering about that," She said, "Both your names are quite… different, beautiful, but different. Grace… I've never heard of someone having that as a name before."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, "It's quite rare, at least, but it's beautiful, and it suits you."

I blushed, "Thank you."

She smiled, and walked over to the counter, picking up a knife to finish chopping up carrots that she must have been in the process of preparing when I knocked, "You know," she said, "Before I had Emiko, I had a daughter that was a lot like you."

I frowned, "What happened to her?"

The woman paused, setting down the knife slightly, and then said, "She died."

Emiko giggled as she dragged out a box and put it at my feet. "Let's play!" she said.

I didn't answer her, but instead gazed at the woman's back. Then I glanced down at the little girl. "Ok!" I said, "Let's take this somewhere else, ok?"

"Ok!"

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"I can't believe I lost!" I cried as Emiko laughed hysterically, leaning backwards in her Indian style sitting position to land on her back, kicking her feet as she laughed. I lost to a four year old! Sure this is the first time I've ever played, or even heard this game, and sure it was designed for the four-year-old's mind, but you'd think something made for a four year old would be nothing for a sixteen year old. "Aw man! I demand a rematch!"

Miss Saya laughed from the doorway, "Breakfast is finally ready," She said, "You'll have to finish that match later."

"Mommy!" Emiko shouted and ran over to the woman, giving her legs a hug.

Miss Saya leaned down and petted her daughter's head softly, then she picked her up, "Let's go."

"Put me down!" Emiko said, "I'm a big girl now, just like big sister!"

Miss Saya's eyes widened in surprise. "Big… sister?"

Emiko grinned and pointed at me, "Yeah, she's my big sister! Big sister Grace!"

I didn't know what to do. After finding out not even an hour ago that Emiko's real big sister died, I didn't know how Miss Saya would react. What would she do?

"I…" I said, standing up.

"Don't worry," Miss Saya said, smiling, "I'm glad that she thinks of you as a big sister."

I frowned, and then smiled.

There was a quiet moment, even Emiko was quiet, and then there was a crashing sound we all spun towards it. A sound like a door smashing open, and then running. "GRACE!"

"Naruto!" I shouted as the—words cannot explain—ran into the room, breathing heavily.

"Naruto!" Emiko echoed happily, pointing at him.

Miss Saya merely stared, wide eyed, at the boy. "Grace? Do you know this boy?"

"Unfortunately," I muttered. "What's with you, Naruto? Why are you here?"

"We're leaving!" Naruto shouted, "Jiraiya just gathered some information about—"

I quickly crossed over to him and grabbed his lips, pinching them. He squealed like a pig from the pain and reeled away from my fingers. "What was that for!?" he yelled when I finally released him.

"Don't run into people's homes like that!" I yelled, "Don't you know how to knock? Where are you manners—ah!" I blushed and turned apologetically towards Miss Saya, "I'm terribly sorry, this is my… younger brother, Naruto Edwards," I pinched the skin on his elbow, to try to make him understand, "Naruto, this is Miss Saya—and her daughter, Emiko—and they live here. Please apologize for being so rude!"

I let go and he rubbed his elbow, then he said, "Hey… sorry…"

"Don't… don't worry about it…" Miss Saya said, smiling, "Welcome to our home!"

"Huh? Oh, thanks." Naruto said, sending me a quizzical look.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So who's Jiraiya?" Miss Saya asked as she handed Naruto, Emiko and I our plates. "Well, I hope whoever he is that he doesn't mind you're staying for breakfast," she said, smiling.

"You sure are nice, Lady," Naruto said, "This smells really good!"

"YUM!" Emiko said as she grabbed her spoon and dug in. "It tastes good Mommy! Mommy is a good cook!" she told Naruto and me. "I love my Mommy! She's my Mommy!" she informed us.

"Yeah," I said, "Thank you, Miss Saya for the food!"

"Don't mention it," She smiled. "I enjoy cooking for a lot of people!"

Naruto and I began eating, and had to agree with Emiko. It _was_ delicious. "This is the best!" Naruto said, "You're amazing, Lady!"

"Why thank you," Miss Saya laughed. "But you don't have to keep complementing me!" she sat down and gazed at us as we ate.

I reached over and wiped Naruto's mouth. Jeez… he's so messy!

"I can tell the two of you are related." She said.

Naruto and I turned to each other in surprise. "Why do you say that?" I asked.

"The way the two of you act with each other," she smiled, "It's obvious that you two are brother and sister."

"I see…" I said.

"Yeah!" Naruto said, grinning, "Grace and I always there for each other, right?" he turned towards me.

I nodded, grinning back, "Right!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Do you really have to go?" Emiko said, her eyes tearing up as her clutched my robe.

I'm afraid so," I said, reaching down and petting her in the same way I saw her mother do so.

"But…but…" she said, choking, "I want my big sister! I want you! I _want_ you!"

"I know!" I said, I crouched so we were eye to eye, "Tell you what, how about sometime soon I'll come and play with you, ok?"

"You promise?" she wiped her eyes woefully.

"I promise," I said.

"Ok…" she turned and clutched at her mother's kimono, "Goodbye Big Sister!"

"Goodbye!" I called as Naruto and I walked down the street.

"Come back soon!" she called.

"I will!" I called back.

"I love you!" she called.

"I love you too!" I called back.

Naruto and I turned away and began walking.

"Do you really love that girl so much, Grace?" Naruto asked when we were a short distance away.

"Huh? Oh… Well… I think that, in not too much time, if I spent more time with her, I probably would," I said, "It's not hard for me to grow affections for people, even people that I originally didn't like. Just look at Sakura and Sasuke. I mean, look at _you_."

"I didn't notice," he said dryly, eyeing me out of the corner of his eye.

I smacked him half heartedly on the head, "Cut that out," I said, "You know it's true." I looked up at the sky, "To tell you the truth, I'm going to miss that little girl…"

"Why?" he asked.

"She reminds me of home…"

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"What the HELL took you two so long?" Jiraiya yelled as he approached him. "I've been waiting for an entire _hour_!"

"We had lunch," I said. "And then I had to get changed and get my stuff."

"Lunch?" he growled, "And you didn't invite me?"

"Naruto wasn't even invited!" I yelled, "I couldn't invite you _too!_"

"You could have made an effort!" he yelled back.

"I didn't _feel_ like it!" I yelled back.

"So _this_ is the thanks I get for dragging you along!"

"You _could_ have left me at the hospital but _no_ you had to bring me along! It's your own damn fault so build a bridge and get over it!" I snapped.

He muttered something I couldn't hear and probably didn't want to hear then said, "So what _were_ you doing all this time?"

I smiled, "I took a walk and met a really cute little girl," I said, "I realized something! I want a cute little girl! And I'll name her Ayame!"

"Really?" Naruto asked, "Well, if you really want a kid I know Sasuke—"

"You know," I said sharply, speeding up so I was in front of him, "That joke is getting old."

Jiraiya and Naruto glanced at each other. "I wasn't joking…" Naruto said quietly and confused.

"You don't understand woman…" Jiraiya said, shaking his head.

"Is there much to understand?" Naruto asked, confused.

Jiraiya merely sighed.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOOoOoOoOoOo

"Wow!" I said, "This is such a beautiful little village! I'm going to do so much shopping—"

"No you're not!" Jiraiya said, "We've come all this way to—"

"Train our asses off!" Naruto shouted.

"Shut up!" he shouted, "You couldn't even _understand _the second step! Let alone _master_ it you _dumbass_!"

"The two of you are _still fighting_?" I asked, "Can't you ever get along?"

"NEVER!" The two shouted in unison.

I sighed. It's like they're both children..."So why can't I go shopping?"

"Because," he said, "While _I'm_ training the squirt here, _you'll _be gathering information on Tsunade to find out where she is."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, "I thought the whole reason we switched to this village was because you found some news on her?"

He frowned, "We switched to this village because, one: we _did_ find some information that Tsunade passed through here, and two: you were being too careless in the last one!"

"I was with a _child_!" I yelled, "How conspicuous can I get?"

"You _could_ be more careful!" he yelled, "Do you know how many of Orochimaru's spies there are?"

I paused. I didn't think of Orochimaru… now that I think of it… if we're going after Tsunade… we might run into _him_ there too. Great, this is _just_ what I need. To see that _freak_ again… well, _this _time I'll give him a piece of my mind! "I'm sorry." I said, "I'll be more careful from now on!"

"You'll have to pretend to be a boy," Jiraiya began, "You're too pretty with that hair to be wondering around, you're attracting too much attention!"

"Are you jealous?" I snapped, "Or actually worried?"

"Ah—eh—shut up!" he yelled, "I have my reasons for wanting you to do this! Besidse, this is _me_ we're talking about? Why the hell would I want you—a pretty girl—to dress up like a boy for anything other than a good reason?"

I suppose he has a point… "Well," I said, "I guess you have a point with that…"

"So," he said, "You'll have to bind your chest, you're boobs are too big—"

"They are not!" I yelled, covering my chest protectively.

"Just do it!" he growled. "And your hair is a problem too…"

"Yeah," I said, touching the long locks, "This is what's attracting most of the attention… but there's no way for me to get rid of it… Lady Utatane attached it to my scalp with chakra. It's as good as my own hair and I don't have the ointment to undo it nor do I know the justsu to release it."

"That bitch…" Jiraiya muttered.

"It makes sense, I mean," I said, "It's more authentic this way."

"But it attracts so much attention," he said, "What was she thinking?"

"I guess I could cut it…" I glanced at the long chunk of hair that I held, "But it's so long and pretty… like a princess… I really like it…"

"Then why not just tie it up?" Naruto asked, "Look at Neji, he's a _guy_ and he has really long hair."

"That's a different matter," I said, "Neji is from a clan of whom it's common for men to have long hair, and besides," I said dryly, "Neji is… _different_…"

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked, "Are you implying something?"

"Never mind," I sighed.

"_I_ have long hair…" Jiraiya added in.

"My point exactly," I said.

"HEY!!"

"Ok," I said, "Let's see about doing the chest binding and the hair tying and—I need boy clothes!"

"Look," Jiraiya said, "Don't sweat it."

"How can I _not_ sweat it!" I yelled.

"Fine, fine…" he muttered, "I'll go get you some boys' clothes…."

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"Are you _sure_ I look like a boy?" I asked.

"Yeah," Naruto said, "kind of."

"'Kind of' wasn't really what I was aiming for but…" Jiraiya said, "But I guess it will do."

My hair was tied up in a high pony tail like a samurai, with the bangs hanging down, and the part in the center to give it a manlier look, instead of at the side. My chest was bound and I was wearing long shorts and a shirt, with ninja boot (and brace) and ninja gloves. All in all, I have to say, I _did_ look like a boy, albeit a feminine boy. "You look like a pretty boy!" Naruto sneered.

"Shut up!" I snapped, "This hurts!" I complained, "Why did you have to tie the binds so tight?"

"Because," Jiraiya said, "I have to make sure that it doesn't get loose and get untied," he said.

"Admit it," I stated, "You got a sick satisfaction out of squeezing the life out of my boobs."

"Sure did!" Jiraiya laughed as he turned around, "It totally turned me on! Especially with you moaning with pain!"

"You sick bastard!" I screamed. I didn't expect him to be so blunt about it! What a SICK bastard! Seriously, I think that there's something wrong with his head. He got one to many beatings from Tsunade.

"No one tell Sasuke," Naruto said, "That Jiraiya was the one to do it."

"No one tell Sasuke," I said, "In _general_." That's the _last_ thing that should happen.

"Ok!" Naruto said, "Let's go!"

"I want a safe ten meters between Jiraiya and I," I said loudly, so said culprit could hear.

If he did hear, he ignored the comment.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Wow!" I said for who knows what time as we entered the village. "I thought it was pretty on the outside, but now that we've finally appeared I see it's even more beautiful closer up!"

"Shut up!" Jiraiya snapped, "Stop sounding like a girl!"

"Oh," I said, "Fine… um…" I paused. "Um… I don't know how!" I whined.

"Then don't talk." He said, "Ok, Naruto, you come with me and train! Masashi, you go get information on Tsunade!"

"Masashi?" I asked. How… coincidental… weird… I mean... seriously... that's a little creepy...

"It means 'elegent'," Jiraiya shrugged, "it'll go well with your looks."

"Whatever," I said, I turned around and lifted my hand as a goodbye and started walking. The two of them, I assume, returned to the fields outside of the village to train. "I can't believe," I muttered, "That I'm stuck with doing the dirty work… those two are so lazy!"

I saw a shop with a lot of people in it, and walked in. It was a restaurant of some kind. I sat down at one of the tables and waited for one of the waitresses to come. "Excuse me, sir," a pretty, dark haired girl said, blushing slightly as she approached me, "Can I take your order?"

"Ah," I said, smiling at her, "You can order me whatever you want—I'm not picky. I'm sure anything you order for me will be splendid."

She blushed deeply and scuffled away awkwardly.

Do I really make that much of an attractive guy? The way Naruto and Jiraiya were going on I looked too feminine to look for a boy… but maybe that's… attractive to most girls? Now that I think of it… The kind of boy that I'm pulling off is popular in manga and anime… the kind of boy to get fanclubs and the like… great… I thought dryly, now I have to make sure I don't lead any girls on…

The girl came back with more food than I'd be able to eat and set it down, "It's on the house!" she mumbled before rushing off.

What a nice girl… I thought, but sort of… well, it creeped me out that she was blushing and obviously had a crush on me when she was a girl and _I _was really a girl. I shuddered slightly.

"My, my," a saucy voice said from above me, I looked up to see a very beautiful woman wearing a loose kimono standing above me, "You have quite the mighty appetite, young man… mind if I join you?"

I had no doubt what kind of woman this was, but I didn't know how to refuse her invite, especially since she sat down without waiting for an answer. "I like that," she said, resting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands, "You're quite the attractive young man," she began. It looked and sounded like she had no interest in the food. I shuffled awkwardly in my seat. What would I do? I don't know how to act here? I'm a _girl_ for heavens sake! "You're hair is so long and beautiful… you look like a little girl…"

She was older, much older than me. Probably in her late twenties, but still beautiful. But… the beauty looked strained, wasted… and in the process of diminishing, like a wilting rose. "Thank you," I said.

She giggled softly, "What a charming voice you have… just like a girl… so young," she said, reaching out and trailing her long fingernail down my jaw line, "Such fine features…"

Ok, now I'm REALLY creeped out! I reeled backwards, away from her reach, "Please," I said, "You can join me but don't…"

She laughed, "Don't worry," she said, "I won't try anything…yet."

If that isn't disturbing than I don't know what is. I'm starting to get worried this woman might force me to _do_ something!

"I'm actually here in town to gather information," I said.

"So a man on a mission," She said, "Why am I not surprised," she smiled, "You want to ask me some questions?"

"If you don't mind," I said.

"Of course," she said, "But it may come at a price…"

My eyes widened. "What—"

"Don't worry," She sighed, "I won't touch your pure little body… I just want money."

"Oh," I said, sighing with relief, "Well I can give you that."

"Now we're talking," She said, "So what do you want to know."

"I'm looking for a woman," I began.

The woman in front of me furrowed her brow. "A lover?"

"No," I said, "A mentor."

"I see…" she said, and then she grinned, "I was getting jealous…"

I ignored that and continued, "Her name is Tsunade." This has got to be the most awkward situation ever, I mean... yeah, the most disturbing and awkward situation.

The woman didn't answer, but instead studied my face. "So you're a ninja…" She said.

"Not really," I answered.

"But still, Tsunade…" The woman looked down at the table, thinking. "I _did_ hear that she was here. She might still be here. I heard she passed through some of the gambling dens—the woman _does_ have a reputation, although not in a good way," she laughed, "Sort of like me!"

I ignored this comment as well, "How long ago did you hear this?"

"Yesterday," she shrugged, "Maybe earlier, why?"

"Which gambling dens did you hear she visited?" I asked.

"Probably all of them," the woman said, "Just go to any and they'll probably tell you she went there, or know where she did go," she shrugged again, "I don't know any details."

"Thank you for your time," I said, reaching into my pouch and pulling out some money.

"Forget it," the woman said, leaning over the table to give me a much too moist kiss on the cheek, "I've enjoyed looking at your pretty face, it's worth it." Glegh... I think I'm going to choke.

She stood up and said, "Goodbye, little boy, maybe, if you get lonely, you'll seek me out," she blew me a kiss and walked away.

I just stood there, staring horrified at the seat where she had been sitting. She… she just… I can't believe… I feel so… _molested_… But at least I have the information. I left the money on the table for the food and stood up and walked out and down the street, looking for the nearest gambling den.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The woman walked around the corner then stopped, glancing to see the boy with long blonde hair walk down the street and out of sight. She reached into her bodice and pulled out a walkie talkie, "Rena here," she whispered into it.

"What's your status?" a man answered, the static making it almost impossible for the woman to hear clearly.

"I found her," Rena said, "She's in the East Village, she's looking for Tsunade. It appears like our spies in her previous destination were right."

"That will make things less complicated," The man said, "If we have similar goals we'll be able to meet up better. It'll save us the problem of tracking her down."

"Be careful," Rena said, "I believe she is with the third Sannin."

"Jiraiya?" Kabuto asked. "Don't worry, that won't be a problem. As long as Lord Orochimaru gains Tsunade's powers and Grace's mind and body, he'll be satisfied."

Rena frowned, "What exactly does Lord Orochimaru want with the girl?"

"That," Kabuto said, "Doesn't concern you. Keep an eye on her," he said, "Don't let her out of your sight."

"Right," the woman said. The connection whizzed out.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So…" Orochimaru said slowly, "She's looking for Tsunade… why am I not surprised… this will make things easier for me…"

"Yes…" Kabuto said, "Would you like for me to order for Rena to abduct her?"

"No…" Orochimaru said, "Right now, I want her continuing searching for Tsunade. Let her lead us to Tsunade, it'll make things more… interesting. When we finally meet up with them, I want you to test her."

Kabuto raised an eyebrow, "Certainly, I'll make sure to bring along a syringe."

"I want to make sure she's compatible with Uchiha blood if my plans are to take effect…"

Kabuto smirked, "Sometimes you even disturb _me_…"

Orochimaru sneered, "Well… let's just say I have more plans for her than to use her knowledge… I want to know if her blood is compatible with his… eventually," he explained, "When Sasuke's body is finally mine, it will grow old. I'm not satisfied with having the Sharingan for only one lifetime… I want it for_ever_… that girl… when I saw her at the Chuunin Exams I realized it… she… for some reason… I believe that her blood will not pollute the Uchiha's precious pureness if mixed… this is why… I want to use her to create more vessels for me… so I can have the Sharingan for an eternity…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooooOo

"Excuse me," I said, as I entered the shop.

"A little young for gambling," The man at the desk said, looking me up and down, "What can I do for you, young sir?"

"Pardon the intrusion," I said, "But I'm looking for someone. Her name is Tsunade."

As soon as I uttered the name the den grew quiet, then, after a few seconds, resumed an awkward rushed volume. "Tsunade, huh? Does she owe you money or something?" The man asked, "Well, listen here, kid," he leaned over the counter to stare me directly in the eye, "She owes just about every bastard in this village money so don't get your hopes up. But if you want to find her you won't find her here. She was in here about two days ago, haven't seen her since. She's still in the village, that's for sure, but I highly doubt she's on this side. This village may not look it but it's pretty big, and who knows, she might have left after all. I'd keep looking around, but you won't find her here."

"Thank you," I said, and left the shop. Jeez… I thought, this is harder than I thought it would be! The woman is about as hard to find as matching socks! I sighed and stared at the sky. This is so annoying… I feel like I'm getting nowhere! No matter what I do I get the same response! 'Well, she _was_ here but not anymore. You may or _may not_ find her in this village…' Yeah! Thanks a LOT people! I kicked a rock in the road and continued on. I'll just check every gambling den in the village if I have to until I get a sufficient amount of information!

I'm _not_ going to give up that easily!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_To be continued…_

I just love putting Grace through awkward situations...

Oh, and the Masashi thing? TOTALLY by accident! I mean, I was looking up male Japanese names and saw "Masashi: _Elegent_" and was like, oh, elegent! That will 'match' Grace perfectly! it wasn't untill I wrote it down that I realized that there was something familiar about it...

Sorry that it's a few days late... I meant to update it on saturday but wasn't satisfied with the chapter... still not satisfied although I edited it three times... oh well... The next chapter will updated this Saturday.

See you then!

fUnKyToEs


	50. The Fifth Hokage: Part XII

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage XII (CHAPTER 50 WHOOOOOOOOOO)

WORDS: 11, 076 words

DISCLAIMER: um… isn't it kind of obvious?

BEFOREWORD: I apologize for this chapter being so late! I was so busy lately that I kept on forgetting to write, then when I did the computer crashed and I lost half of it so I rewrote it and then couldn't figure out what I was even writing… it was so bizarre, I kept on rewriting parts or revising or whatever and I kept on writing and writing without actually accomplishing anything… so if most of the chapter is pretty random I apologize. It's not until the second half of the chapter that things actually get interesting and the plot picks up (finally). Next chapter is going to kick ass.

WARNING: um… yeah… this isn't my favorite chapter… I sort of had the opposite of writer's block… which basically means that I kept writing but about absolutely nothing… so… everything pretty random and probably makes NO sense… plus… well, you'll see at the very end at my afterword why this chapter is so jumpy…

Enjoy!

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Forget what I said… I give up.

I slumped onto a bench. How the hell can I find the woman if Jiraiya didn't even give me anything to identify her with? Like… a picture to show people? Or maybe… gah… I can't understand any of the terms people use. They'll say she went somewhere and I can't figure out if it's a restaurant, village, or whatever! And if I _do_ know what it is, I can't find it because I can't READ. This is so frustrating. Why the hell did Jiraiya make _me_ do this? Aren't I supposed to be protected? What if the Akatsuki come after me again? Jeez… I sighed and then yawned, stretching.

Another thing… The more time we waste… the faster Orochimaru will find Tsunade… the more he'll want Sasuke… and the sooner he'll send the Sound Four after Sasuke…

I gasped and sat up straight. This means, that if I don't find Tsunade fast, Orochimaru might even make his move while I'm still on this mission and I won't be able to prevent Sasuke from leaving! I stood up, I _have_ to do this. I can't even believe that I didn't realize this before. This isn't about finishing my mission as 'Princess Haruka', nor is it wholly about getting the Fifth Hokage, it's preventing Sasuke from leaving.

I mean… I looked up at the sky and saw that it was considerably darker than it had been a few hours ago. Great… it will be nightfall in about hour. Less than an hour, actually, the moon was now completely visible and bright. I glanced around. This place is definitely one of those 'night-time' places, if you get my drift. I think it's even more crowded here than normal… And I don't think Naruto and Jiraiya are going to stop their training or searching for information which means I won't get a wink of sleep tonight…

I sighed. Ok, where should I look first?

"Hey!" Someone snapped as they bumped into me. "Watch where you're going, scrat!"

I glared in their direction and moved out of the way. The _nerve_ of some people!

I will just have to keep searching and looking for clues… which sucks because I've never been good at stuff like this. I looked up at the sky. How long is Jiraiya planning on staying here, anyway? Till tomorrow? The next day? Perhaps even the _next_? I clenched my fists. I don't care. I'm going to find Tsunade and head back to the village as soon as I finish the mission! I have to protect Sasuke. That is the ultimate objective of this mission.

My shoulders slumped. But I have _no_ idea how to even start doing that…

"Hey…" Someone put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Jiraiya towering above me. "Here," he said, handing me a key, "This for a hotel, called the _Hanaka_, I've reserved a room for you there. Naruto still training. It'll take him a few days. You rest, you've done enough. I'll take over the research now that Naruto set for his training. You look after him, ok? Make sure he doesn't kill himself."

I nodded, relieved to finally be free.

"But still keep that disguise," he said, as if sensing my sense of false hope, "I don't want you attracting attention."

"You enjoy torturing me, don't you?" I muttered. He shrugged and walked off. The old pervert is probably just going to go to some whorehouse somewhere… I sighed. Well, I should get my sleep. Jiraiya is better at searching for information anyway. He _knows_ Tsunade. I glanced at the key and narrowed my eyes. How the hell am I going to _find_ the stupid hotel?!?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto collapsed and stared up at the sky. The ball, unbroken, rolled from his hand. "It's no use…" he muttered. "It won't break at all…" he turned his head, exhausted, and stared at his twitching hand. It was sore, and stiff, frozen as if holding an invisible ball. "This…" he thought, "Is definitely more difficult than breaking the water balloons…"

_Earlier that day…_

_Naruto grinned as he looked up at the taller man. "I can't wait!" he said, "This will be so AWESOME!"_

"_Don't jump to conclusions," Jiraiya snapped, "You realize that this step is at __**least**__ a hundred times harder."_

"_How can something be __**a hundred times harder**__?" I asked, "That makes no sense."_

"_Shut up!" he snapped, "You don't even know the first thing to ninjutsu! __**Or**__ genjutsu __**or**__ taijutsu! Who the hell are __**you**__ to tell __**me**__ what makes sense!"_

"_I'm just saying that I don't understand how something can be a hundred times harder and still be possible to accomplish!" I retorted._

"_THAT'S WHY I'M SAYING THAT IT'S HARD TO MASTER!"_

"_I'M SAYING IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" I yelled._

"_IT'S NOT IMPOSSIBLE!"_

"_THEN DON'T SAY IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"_

"_I DIDN'T!"_

"_YES YOU DID!"_

"_SHUT UP!"_

"_HA!" I said, pointing victoriously, "You admit it!"_

"_I DID NOT!" he screamed in my face._

_I reeled away from him, "Don't yell so close to my face!" I yelled. _

"_Moving on," he said, stepping a few steps away. "Naruto, for the second step…"_

"_Yes?" Naruto said, excitedly._

"_Wow," I said, dryly, "It's an idiot and its idiot apprentice."_

"_One more word out of you and I'm going to—"_

"_Don't forget," I sniffed, "__**I'm**__ the Honorable Granddaughter. You lay a finger on me and there will be trouble…"_

_Jiraiya gritted his teeth. "You little…"_

"_Well," I smirked, "I'm off, see ya!"_

"_That little punk faced…" Jiraiya muttered. _

"_She's a girl," Naruto pointed out._

"_I know that!" he said. "I don't care if she's only in a bathrobe—actually, it's hotter that way."_

"_Gross…" Naruto muttered, "You are so perverted…"_

"_Trust me," Jiraiya said, "I know woman… and she might not be __**that**__ much of a looker now but soon, very soon, she'll turn into a goddess, trust me."_

"_I almost hope she doesn't," Naruto said, "It'll be more trouble for her if she's prettier."_

"_Why's that?"_

"_Think about it…" Naruto said, "I mean, if other guys like her, don't you think that would piss off a certain someone?"_

_Jiraiya paused, "Yeah," he said, "But…" he padded his pocket which he kept his notebook, "But that will just end up making for an even more interesting story…"_

"_Story—oh, youre new book…"_

"_It's my hope that there will be a dramatic love triangle…" Jiraiya said, a glint in his eye, "That would make thins very interesting…"_

"_You mean someone will die." Naruto said dryly._

"_Probably," Jiraiya admitted, "Anyway, let's get on with the lesson. Watch!" He produced a round ball in his hand. Naruto eyed it will distaste, hoping that the next excersise wouldn't involve it. "Watch…" Jiraiya repeated. There was a second delay and then the ball exploded, bits and pieces of the balloon and air going everywhere before floating down to the ground._

"_Whoa…" Naruto said, slowly and starry eyed. "Is that the next step? PIECE OF CAKE!" he rushed over and grabbed a ball, holding it in his hand similar to the way Jiraiya held it, and concentrated his chakra. _

"_You fool," Jiraiya mutted, "Didn't you hear me? This step is at least a hundred times harder than the last one!"_

"_I heard you before!" Naruto retorted, "It was kind of hard to ignore you and Grace going at it!"_

"_Hey!" Jiraiya spat back, "Don't blame me for that girl's inability to control her volume!"_

"_YOU'RE LOUDER THAN SHE IS!" Naruto yelled._

"_YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!" Jiraiya shouted. He took a deep breath, "Ok, I'll give you a hint, alright?"_

"_Fine," Naruto said, quickly realizing by the lack of reactions that whatever he was trying to do wouldn't work. "What is it? How do you do this?"_

"_Ok, the first step is to 'spin'," Jiraiya said, "And the second step is to add 'power'." He grinned, "Unlike before, this ball doesn't have water."_

"_Oh," Naruto said, "So that's why it's so light…"_

"_You idiot!" Jiraiya muttered, "That's not supposed to be something you just figured out!"_

"_Did you say something?" Naruto asked, looking up at him._

"_Nothing…" Jiraiya muttered. "Anyway, due to the fact that there's no water, this means that it'll take more energy and chakra to muster up the strength to destroy the ball—does __**that**__ make any sense?"_

"_Um… I… guess?"_

"_I give up." Jiraiya sighed. He shook his head and turned around, "Well, I'll leave it up to you—I always found the best training was by yourself, besides, you'll never learn anything if I just spoon feed you like a baby…"_

_**That or he's just too lazy…**__ Naruto thought. _

"_I'm going off to do some research," Jiraiya continued, lethargically, "Don't expect me back anytime soon…"_

"_RESEARCH FOR YOUR BOOK YOU MEAN!" Naruto yelled, pointing accursedly at the older man, "That perverted crap is worth more to you than my training!"_

"_Shut up!" Jiraiya snapped, "I'll have you know that that 'perverted crap' is revered as art!"_

"_Art my ass," Naruto muttered, "I'm going to tell Grace that you went of spying on girls!"_

_Jiraiya gulped. "Then let's just keep this between us," Jiraiya said, nerviously. He had already gotten on Grace's 'they whom piss me off' list and he's rather not have his name jump to a higher number on the death count. "Right," he said, "Just between the two of you, as a thanks for training you!" he disappeared, laughing._

"_Jeez," Naruto thought, "As a thanks for training me… he's barely done that as it is…" he glanced at the balloon in his hands. The old man had mentioned that it was a lot harder than before… but… it couldn't be __**that**__ much harder… right?_

Naruto's hand twitched from the effort of breaking the ball. It was as if his hand was frozen in place, and the muscles ached with such a ferocity of that he's never felt, not from training. _The old man was right_, he thought, it _is_ so much harder… it's almost too hard… after all this time and he didn't even improve… his whole life he knew, as has known, that if he just pushed himself beyond his limit he could accomplish anything, and for the most part, it proved to be true… but now, with this new technique that he was so confident and sure he could master, it was so out of his reach, he couldn't even see it.

_oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo_

Naruto was lying on the ground when I breached the top step of the staircase leading out of the village and stepped onto the ground of the plateau that surrounding the village. I suppose plateau isn't the right word… more like the land that surrounded the canyon that the village resided in. How strange… so many of these little villages have the strangest terrains… it's almost… well, I'm not surprised, I mean, they _were_ originally belonging to a fantasy world. I suppose when you think of it is still _is_ a fantasy realm but now that I breath and live in the air of that world it's hard to remember it as such.

Naruto was so exhausted that he didn't even see me approach, although I doubt that he would have taken notice anyway. The kid was never that observational. It wasn't until I was standing above him that he tiredly glanced at my face, then, ashamed, looked away, at the moon.

I knew what he was ashamed about, that it was the fact that he couldn't master the technique. How I knew? Without him or I saying a word to each other? That's easy. The ball, unbroken, the boy, heartbroken. I chuckled to myself at the fact that I just rhymed something so corny, and Naruto, mistaken my chuckle as a tease, glared at me defiantly through eyelashes that I just realized were actually quite long and pretty. "You have pretty eyes," I said, crouching down, "And no, I wasn't laughing at you—I was laughing at myself." I peered at him and picked up his limp hand. "So…" I said, poking the center of the palm and realizing that he couldn't move it too well began massaging it, "I'm guessing that you haven't mastered the second step yet."

He looked away.

I sighed. "It's nothing to be ashamed about," I said, "After all, it took the Fourth years to master that technique—I think it was years—but still, the fact that in such a short time you've gotten this far is amazing!" Naruto cringed as I hit a nerve with my fingers, "Sorry," I continued, "But still, Naruto, you just have to keep trying, I think this step will take you longer and be more trying and harder than anything you've ever done before. I know," I chided, "That you wish you could just master it immediately, and I know that how most people think.

"After all, if everyone could just be good at whatever they wanted, than _you_ for an example would be able to become Hokage right away!" I paused, "And wouldn't that be great, to be able to become Hokage whenever you wanted." I sighed, "I wish life _was_ like that sometimes, not about being Hokage, but there are other things I wish for that take too long or too much effort or are just impossible." My hand relaxed and stopped massaging his for a moment, "But when you think about it, is that really strength? If you, in just a blink of an eye, can just become stronger like that, is that _true_ strength? I think strength, wisdom, love, everything comes from the journey you take to achieve it. So, although you might not be able to master this technique in just a day, you'll be even stronger the day that you _do_ achieve it, because you didn't give up on the journey."

He smiled tiredly. "Thanks, Grace," he said, then he frowned, "It's weird calling you Grace when you look like a boy."

"It's weird talking to you like Grace when I look and I'm supposed to be pretending to be a boy," I agreed, nodding. "I'm exhausted too." I grinned, "Thought not as exhausted as you. Why don't you take a break for the night, you need your rest, no matter how much you want to master that technique, it won't do you much good if you die on your feet—Jiraiya got us a hotel, so why not go out to eat something and then we can sleep, ok?"

He grinned, "Can we have ramen?"

I smiled back, "Sure, why not—I'll even treat!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Konoha Noob Rule # 1: Never, and I mean NEVER, offer to treat a ramen addict to as much ramen as they want.

That was the worst mistake I could have ever made.

Don't get me wrong, I was totally willing to pay for all eight ramen bowls that Naruto inhaled before I finally had to drag him away, but I mean… _eight_. The boy must have been starving after all the training he underwent, and I understood that… but _eight_… Let's just say that my 'extra' cash, the cash that I decided would be the only amount I'd use and save the rest for emergency, was quite depleted by the end of the night. It's a good thing I don't eat as much as I used to because otherwise… I doubt that I'd have much money left.

Naruto sighed and set down his sixth ramen bowl, "That was good," he sighed, "I'll have another one!"

"Don't you think _seven_ bowls is a little much?" I asked.

"Why?" he said, blinking with utmost confusion at me. I was reminded once again how pretty Naruto's eyes were. As Sasuke's eyes were darker than a moonless night Naruto's eyes were the color of the most azure sky when the sun is shining at its brightest. They were complete opposites and yet I don't think either one was the more superior. Not in the beauty of their eyes, at least.

"What if you get a stomach ache," I pointed out, "You don't want to turn into Choji, do you?"

"Look," he said, pointing his chopstick at me, "First of all, I'm not eating _near_ enough as Choji would have, and second… well, that's just insulting—Ramen!" he squealed as the bowl was set in front of him. Again, for the seventh time, he appeared to inhale his food, quite literally, slurping and gulping with such speed that I almost thought that he wasn't human but instead some strange ramen addicted demon.

Not like Choji… I thought in my mind, like _you're_ one to talk, Naruto…

When he set down his bowl, he grinned at me, "I'm glad you took me out to eat Gr—"

"—Masashi," I corrected quickly, glancing out of the corner of my eye at the ramen maker person. They didn't seem to notice.

"Right, Masashi," Naruto said, clearly uncomfortable with calling me something other than Grace. Wait till I try to explain to him that Grace isn't really my name… I think he'll go through mental shock. Not that it really matters, since in this world Grace technically and legally _is_ my name… although does that make my _real_ name fake? Or does it make it my _real_ name and my legal name fake? Ok, now _I'm_ confused. "Are you really done eating?" Naruto asked, peering into my unfinished bowl.

"Yeah…" I said, "I'm not very hungry…"

"But you've only had one bowl—not even," Naruto said.

I think it was all that food that I had in that restaurant… I thought, although I didn't actually end up eating any of it, it was the strange woman who was trying to… well, you know, that freaked the appetite out of me. Better not tell _that_ to Naruto—or Jiraiya—or I'll never hear the end of it.

"Jeez, Gr—Masashi," Naruto grumbled, "You've got to eat."

The ramen maker guy looked at us with a peculiar look, and I realized how odd we must have looked.

Naruto, obviously a guy and a kid, and me, controversially a guy and a teenager. I wonder if Naruto and I look like a couple… I bet we do—oh the irony…

After Naruto had his eight bowl (and finished mine) and I had paid we said goodnight to the ramen maker people persons I don't know what they're called things and began walking towards the hotel.

"So what's the hotel name?" Naruto asked.

I frowned. "The silver… the silver… silver… Hanaka!" I said, finally.

"The Silver Hanaka?" Naruto asked.

"No, just Hanaka," I corrected.

"So why'd you say silver at first?"

I shrugged, "For some reason I thought there was silver in the front of it," I said, "Must have just been going through my mind—isn't it funny how things like that happen!" I laughed.

Naruto just gave me the look and took the key. "Alright—Gr—Masashi," he said, pointing at a hotel that I must have passed dozens of times that day and was just on the opposite side of the street where the ramen shop was as well as the place just next to where Jiraiya gave me the damn key. "That's the Hanaka."

"You've got to be kidding…" I muttered, "You're telling me I went all that way to find the stupid hotel and it was right in front of me the whole time?!"

"Well," Naruto shrugged, grinning, "At least we don't have far to go."

"I guess that's true…" I said, sighing, "But I still feel like an idiot…" I'm on a lower level than Naruto is… how depressing… I can feel my ego dwindling down to nothing…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

As Naruto and I lay down on our futons and I scooted closer to him. "What are you doing?" Naruto asked, glancing at me from over his shoulder as I wrapped my arms around him.

"You're just so cute!" I squealed, hugging him, "You're like a little plushie!" I grinned, "Besides, I don't have Sasuke-kun to snuggle with, so you're my Foxy-kun to snuggle."

"You're just happy because those bindings are off," Naruto pointed out.

"Ok," I said, "That's got me in a good mood but I also wanted to hug you! Is it so bad that a big sister wants to snuggle with her little brother?"

"I'm not that much younger than you—but go ahead," Naruto yawned. "I'm so sleepy I could care less." He grinned and leaned back into my chest, "besides, it's like having an extra cushion."

"Don't get perverted on me you little creep," I snapped, "This is supposed to be wholly cute, _not_ something to make me feel like a pedophile." But he was already asleep.

I smiled and rested my head at the back of his neck. I liked the way he smelled. It wasn't the way Sasuke smelled, and it didn't have that peculiar sent that made me feel peculiar and strangely nice when I smelled it like Sasuke's sent does, but… it was… still nice. Relaxing. I took a deep breath.

"What are you doing to him?" Jiraiya whispered in my ear.

I shrieked and jumped away from him, vaulting over Naruto and landing on the other side. Naruto woke with a start and grabbed a kunai, brandishing it at nothing in particular. When he realized that there was no real threat in the room he frowned and sighed, "Just you two again?" he muttered and the fell down on the pillow, snoring. I was always amazing with how quick that kid can fall asleep. I've actually seen him fall asleep standing up, as well as make ramen in his sleep, not to mention that time that he—but that's a different story. I carefully unhooked his hand from the kunai and laid it far away from his reach, then glared at Jiraiya, "What is your problem?" I snapped, "I thougth for sure you'd spend a _little_ more time searching for Tsunade!"

"Well," he snapped right back, "It's not as easy as you think!"

"Actually," I snapped back at him, "I _do_ know how hard it is!" I said, "I _realize_ you wouldn't be finding her tonight, but you _just_ went out! Don't you have _any_ devotion!?"

"I was sleepy!" he complained. "I spent the whole day performing re…search…" he said, his speech slowing dramatically at that last word as if realizing that the word would cause the end of his life. And he was right.

I picked up my pillow and, kneeling on my knees and leaning over Naruto, smacked the pervert hard over the head, "You…" I seethed, in a hushed whisper so as not to wake Naruto up, "You perverted son of a—how could you go out and—you—you—how could you do that!" I hissed, "You're on a mission and what to you do, you go off and peek at girls!"

"I was doing research!" he shot back, "It's a skill that you would never understand! A skill that has made me famous—"

"Famous?!" I silently shrieked, "Famous for being a _lewd,_ _perverted, _and otherwise _worthless man!_"

"That was _way_ out of line!" he growled, picking up his pillow and smacking me lightly over the head. I smacked him back and there was a flurry of pillows as we had a tired half hearted pillow fight that was only slightly tainted with the intent to kill.

"Whatever," I snapped, "Regardless of what you were doing—_I'm_ going to tell Tsunade how you were peeking at girls instead of doing what you were supposed to be doing."

He paled.

"I'm also going to tell her that you sexually assaulted me." I sniffed.

He paled even farther, then frowned, "When did I sexually assault you?"

I shook my head, then pointed at his book. He chuckled nervously, then I pointing to my boobs, indicating the bindings, then I pointed to the bed, indicating how he had crawled into my bed.

"Please…" he whispered, "I'll do anything—but _please_ don't tell her!"

"Oh," I said, "I'll tell her, alright, you reap what you sow old man." I sighed, "Will you please go to the other side of the room, or a different room? Regardless of what you'd actually do or not it's rather unnerving to sleep in the same room—let alone the same square meter as a grown man."

"You're going to have to get used to it someday," he said, standing up and walking to the door.

"Well I hope, when that day comes, _I'm_ an adult as well," I retorted.

He chuckled and closed the door after him.

"Man," I muttered, crossing my arms, "That man knows how to piss me off!" I scowled, "That pervert…"

I sighed and lay down. I was by now too tired to go to my own futon and fell asleep.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When I woke up I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was drowning. "Naruto," I finally got out, "Stop choking me!"

The boy woke from a start and let go of my neck. It wasn't his hands that had encircled around my neck but instead his arms in a death embrace. "What was that about?" I asked him rolling over to face him and rubbing my neck."

"I have no idea…" he muttered, yawning. "I guess I just did that in my sleep…" his eyes were half closed and he sounded and looked like he could just drop back asleep.

I sighed. Strangely enough it wasn't weird knowing that I just slept next to Naruto the whole night—with Sasuke, that'd be weird for some reason, but Naruto… it's like when I snuggle with one of my little relatives back home… the thought of home, especially said little ones sent a reminiscent bolt as fast and sharp as lightning through me. Naruto seemed to notice the shock that reverberated my body because he sat up and hugged me. I smiled and hugged him back.

It's ironic that Naruto is at his most intuitive when he's half asleep.

"Well, well, well…" a sly voice slurred from behind us.

I turned around and glared over my shoulder at the tall white haired man leaning against the door. "What do you want, Pervert?" I asked dryly.

He scowled. "Stop calling me that," he muttered.

"It's true." I retorted.

"Fine, _bitch_," he snapped.

I narrowed my eyes, "What do you want?" I repeated.

"Just telling you that I'm going to be searching for any clues about Tsunade today. I want you to oversee Naruto's training—" he grinned sadistically, "—you need to keep pretending to be a boy."

"You bastard!" I muttered as he closed the door. "My boobs can't go through that again!"

"I think you're boobs—"

"Don't even say it Naruto," I snapped, "Don't even _think_ it."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You seem to be in a good mood—regardless of whom you have to be," Naruto commented as we ascended to the place where he trained.

"Oh," I said, "It's a pretty day—look at those clouds! And the sky is just so blue! How could I be in a bad mood on a day like this?"

"Well," he pointed out, "you were in a pretty bad mood this morning."

"That's because of a certain fifty year old pervert," I muttered, my mood darkening.

"Forget I mentioned it," Naruto said, nervously. "With any luck we won't have to see him today—although he _is_ supposed to be training me."

"I bet he's just peeking at girls," I said, shrugging and sitting down on a bench. "Alright, Naruto, train!"

He scowled at my laziness and began the long, tedious and boring task of trying to break an air balloon. It was the most boring thing to watch ever. He looked like he was constipated, just staring at the ball and grunting. I could have laughed if I wasn't so bored. I would have fallen asleep it weren't for the Perverted Sage coming up and scaring the crap out of me.

He slammed his hand down on my shoulder, waking me up from my doze and causing me to shriek in a rather unmanly way and then glare at him. "Why did you do that?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Felt like scaring the crap out of you." He said. "Yo! Naruto!" he walked up to Naruto and then conversed with the short boy so I couldn't hear.

"Well, you succeeded," I muttered. He's gotten meaner and meaner the past few days. I suppose he's impatient to finish this mission too, huh? Although I don't think he's very keen on meeting Tsunade again, or at least, not looking forward to how Tsunade is going to react to what I have to tell her about his behavior. I grinned, ha! Take that you pervert! I can't wait to see what she does to you!

"Masashi!" Jiraiya yelled, and I didn't answer at first, then realized that was my 'name' and got up and walked over to him. "I want you two to go get me lunch." He said.

"What?" I said, "Why don't you get your own lunch?"

"Hey!" he whined, "I've been busting my ass off looking for Tsunade! Gimme' a break!"

"In your dreams," I snapped, "Seriously, though, you were _just down there_, why come all the way up here just to send _us_ down there to get lunch that would have been much easier for you to get yourself?"

He frowned, then didn't answer and instead spun on his heels and snapped, "Because, _I'm_ the adult and can boss you guys around as much as I like!"

"Whatever," I said, "Come on Naruto."

"What about my training?" Naruto asked.

"My lunch first," Jiraiya smirked.

I grabbed Naruto before the boy could attempt an attack on the older man's life and dragged him down the stairs. "What are you doing?" Naruto seethed.

"The guy's in a bad mood," I said, sighing, "He does that—you know, pain in the ass attitude whenever he's in a bad mood, so it's best to just stay away from him."

"Why is he in a bad mood?" Naruto asked.

Why? The Akatsuki? The village? Tsunade? Myself? Naruto? Everything? Probably. "I don't know," I lied. "Must be the weather."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It turned out that it _wasn't _the weather, because when we returned Jiraiya was lazily lying on the ground, staring up at the canopies of tries and sighing in the warm air. Naruto and I looked at each other and frowned. Of course, he wasn't worried about anything. He was just being lazy. "You're just lazy," I said, speaking my thoughts out loud as I dropped the lunch box we bought him on his chest. He grinned.

"You better believe it, baby," he said.

I scowled. "Do you know how _twisted_ that sounds since I'm 'supposed' to be a guy?" I smirked, "Maybe I should pretend we're _dating…_"

"No no no…" Jiraiya said, panicking as he sat up, "No need to be cruel, Grace!"

My grin widened. Oh… to be cruel… "Fine," I said, standing up straight, and putting my hands on my hips, "But you need to get your ass up off the dirt and onto the battle field, soldier! What the hell do you think we're doing? Just sitting around doing nothing? Lazing so you can go do research for that pathetic excuse for literature? Don't forget we're on a mission—_two_ missions. Two very _important_ missions and as the highest ranking ninja on these missions you are responsible for them! Oh, and don't forget… it's _Masashi_."

He scowled and stood up, brushing himself off. "With that attitude," he muttered, "We don't even have to go get Tsunade, _you_ can run the village…"

"Very funny," I snapped.

He sulked as he walked away.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled after him, "What about my training?"

Jiraiya waved a goodbye without looking back and disappeared.

"Just do what you've been doing," I said, "He has more important things to do."

Naruto looked down and kicked the dirt, and I regretted saying those words. "Hey," I said, "Don't take it to heart, as soon as we finish these missions _I'll_ make sure Jiraiya supervises _all_ of your training! You'll become better than all the Sannin and Kages put together!"

This didn't cheer him up, and instead he still kicked at the dirt. I frowned. Usually that sort of thing gets him going—in fact, it was worrisome. "Is something wrong?" I asked, "You're kind of… down?"

"It's just…" he looked away, "Do you remember… when we were buying food for Jiraiya… there was… this man. He was buying something for his son. It was a popsicle." He lifting up two fingers, pressed together, then separated them, "It was the kind that you separate into two, they break apart." His hand dropped. "The man gave the other one to his son."

So that's what was bothering him.

"I've never…" he continued, quietly. "I've never had a dad… so I don't know…"

I quickly crossed the path and pulled the little guy into a deep hug. I suppose I shouldn't call him little, since he's only a little over half a foot shorter than me, but still, to me, he'll always be a little guy. "Don't worry about it," I said, "The fact is, you have plenty of people—Jiraiya, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, _me_—who are willing to break that popsicle with you. You might not have a dad, but you're _so_ lucky to be able to have tons of people who are willing to take the place of the people you've had to live without." I pulled him away and looked at him, "We've been rather touchy feely lately," I said.

There was an awkward silence and we jumped away from each other. "Right," Naruto said, "As long as you're dressed as a boy we should do that—you know—touchy feely stuff."

"Right," I said, although for a different reason, "No touchy feely stuff…"

"Well," Naruto said, his voice too cheerful with just the hint of edgy in it, "I'm going to train now!"

"Ok!" I said, my voice matching his, "I'm going to go look around a bit! Make sure Jiraiya is doing his job! See'ya!"

"Bye!"

"Ok!"

I rushed down the steps. What just happened? Weird…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I yawned and stretched, trying to ignore the looks I got as I walked down the street. It was creepy—and annoying—that so many people kept looking at me. Must be the hair. OH! I thought, Bishi! That's what I must look like… my shoulders slumped. No wonder the girls keep looking at me… while the guys are like 'dude, what the hell is _wrong_ with that dude?'

Damn you Jiraiya! You did this on purpose!

I sighed and kicked the dirt. It was noon already and no one has heard anything about Tsunade. Did it take this long originally? We're running out of time! I know that Jiraiya was really looking for Tsunade, I mean, he's an idiot, and a perverted idiot, but he's not an imbecile. He knows his duties and although he doesn't like to admit it, he knows what he has to do. All I have to do is make sure I don't die so I can complete _my_ part of the mission… which is… going… to…wait…

It was rather confusing, I mean, I faked the princess _exiting_ the leaf village, then I had to _not_ be the princess _or_ Grace and then I have to fake the princess _entering_ wherever we're going and then _not_ be the princess _or_ Grace and go back the village and then _be _Grace… I grasped my head as these thoughts swirled around and around and around. I think my head is going to explode.

Why can't I just stay home? I should have just stayed home… Why did I agree to come on this mission? It's not like I'll be of much help, and it's not like…

"_Because I—" Sasuke had said, his cheeks flushing, "Because I lo—" he broke off._

"_What?" I asked, much more harshly than I should have, "You __**what**__?"_

_It was that tone of voice I used that caused him to stiffen, his attitude going from solemn to anger. He turned around and said, coldly, "Fine, go if you want, but this is the last time I'm ever letting you go, understand that."_

I remember… crying after he said that. I don't even remember the _reason_ I was crying, other than the fact that I felt as if I had done some terrible and unforgiveable wrong that was not atonable. Why is it, whenever Sasuke gets angry at me, I always cry? I feel so weak that he can reduce me to nothing with just some words. Why is it that I always feel like nothing compared to him? I feel so helpless, unable to make him happy, and unable to help him. All I can do is fuel is hate.

And that was the last time I saw Sasuke before I left. He was so angry at me… and why shouldn't he be? I broke my promise to him that I would never leave the village, never put myself in danger. No… that wasn't the last time I saw Sasuke, it's just the last time I remember seeing him. I was present when Itachi attacked—

I let out a scream as pain scorched my head. It was gone seconds later, but I held my head with my hands, staring at the ground that had suddenly become close to my face. What happened, why did that happen? I've thought about Itachi before, but why now did it—I bit my tongue and tasted blood as the pain returned. Is it because I'm thinking of Sasuke and Itachi at the same time? The pain was subdued now, but still pulsing and making me unable to move off the ground. I was dimly aware of people rushing over to me, then lifting me off the ground. But all I could think about was Itachi.

The pain was dull now, but everything I saw was weird, the lights and darks more contrasted than before, shiny because blinding, darkness became soothing, and then, everything finally dimmed out till all I saw were the flashing images—the reminiscent memory of what Itachi had shown me not long ago.

Then my eyes opened as water was splashed over my face.

"Thank goodness," a woman's voice said, "I thought that he was going to have to go to the hospital!"

"Nah," a man's voice said, "He just passed out, that's all. Hey kid!" a large face entered my vision and grinned at me. It was an older man, maybe in his late forties or early fifties, and his hair had only the hints of turning gray at the roots. His beard, on the other hand, was white as snow. "How are you doing? You gave us quite the fright, screaming and collapsing like that in front of our shop!"

"Don't say it like that!" the woman complained. My eyes drifted towards her, she was also a middle-aged woman, although she didn't have any hints at all of her hair turning gray, she did have more wrinkles than the man did. She was also plump, with an apron on. A warm looking person. "You'll make him think he did something wrong—are you alright?" she asked me, leaning towards me with earnestly. "My, you _are_ an attractive young man!" she giggled.

The man scowled, "You're the one who shouldn't be saying things, sis," he said.

So… these two are brother and sister. I just assumed that they were married or something. "What…" I said, my voice hoarse, "What happened?"

"You just sort of let out this weird scream," The man explained, "And collapsed. You were sort of having a fit, like—convulsions. We thought you were having a seizure or something. So we carried you inside and made you comfortable—we were thinking about bringing you to the hospital but after we carried you indoors the convulsions just stopped. Then you were just sleeping. When you starting mumbling in your sleep I started sprinkling water on you to try to wake you up."

"Oh," I said, "Thank you for… you know, bringing me inside."

"Are you anemic?" the woman asked.

"Sort of," I said. I'm glad that they didn't bring me to the hospital, I would hate to have to explain why I was a girl but dressed as a guy! "Is there any way that I can repay you? Work for you or something for the day?"

"I like this kid," The man grinned.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto collapsed onto his knees. Damn! He thought, Why is this so hard? It doesn't break, no matter how many times I try! All I'm doing is getting rid of my chakra… He lifted his hands and studied them, somewhat scornfully, Every time I let my chakra flow a pain runs down my arms. It feels like as I use my chakra… the nerves are being prodded.

His fingers twitched as he tried to bend them, trying to give them a little life.

The more I increase the amount of chakra… he observed, the worse the pain gets… and eventually… the harder it is to move the muscles…

It felt—and looked—like his hands were working in slow motion. There were marks of exhaustion under his eyes as he glared at his shaking hands. This was harder than anything he's ever had to do before. "It's almost like I…" he began, speaking to himself, "It's almost like I have to somehow go all out, like I'm going to make my chakra…" he gulped, "Explode…" He then frowned. "If I _don't_ go all out, I'll probably never break it."

Inspiration hit him and he was suddenly recharged with new energy. "I know!" he said excitedly, as he went into his stance and held the ball out, his right hand poised over it. _I have to pay attention to the amount of pain I feel… the pain is telling me how much chakra I'm letting loose… so the more I let loose, the more painful it is… which means I can control how much chakra I put into the ball. All this put together means if I bring the level of my chakra right up to the most my pain tolerance can handle… to the point right before it's too much to handle…_

He charged more chakra through his hands and into the ball. _No… not enough!_ He gritted his teeth and charged even more through it. His eyes stung and he closed them, squeezing them so tight that he saw stars. He could barely feel his hands, and there was nothing except pain. "Now!" he squeezed the ball with his hands and there was a 'popping' sound as a small hole exploded out of the side and the air rushed out. His hand collapsed into themselves as the ball no longer supposed them.

He frowned.

Then he turned around and glared at the tall man chuckling behind him. "Aren't you supposed to be looking for Tsunade?" he asked.

Jiraiya waved away the comment, and instead said, "Well, looks like you've improved a _little_ bit," he smirked, "I never thought you'd be able to complete this step."

Naruto glared at him, "Whatever!" he said, "I only make a hole in the ball! And it didn't break or explode like when you did it!"

"Oh please," Jiraiya sighed, "Don't be stubborn, here," he said, producing a Popsicle. It was the kind that you break into two. He broke the two popsicles and held one out for the little blonde haired boy. "Here, you've come a long way on your own, and that's quite an accomplishment!"

Naruto stared at the popsicle with wide eyes.

_The fact is, you have plenty of people who are willing to take the place of the people you've had to live without._

Naruto smiled and took the popsicle from Jiraiya, grinning up at him with eyes shining with thanks.

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Apparently Naruto would be proud. It turns out these people are ramen makers. Who would have thought, huh? Such a small world. I was in charge of kneading the dough, which is apparently a very important step to making noodles. I also had no idea how sticky and… well the dough of noodles is more like cookie dough, I had always just assumed it was like bread dough, but it's not. The man stood there, instructing me how to knead it, then criticizing my every move and watching with the eyes of a hawk as I did my first batch. He would then make me mix the ingredients again and start over.

He snatched the third batch from me and tossed it carelessly into the trash. "No good," he said, "We'll do it again."

"Why'd you throw it away!" I asked, aghast.

"Like I said, 'no good'." He said, as he began to mix the ingredients together again, to show me yet again the 'proper' way to do it. I watched him in curiosity. First, he mixed the flour and salt, then made a little 'well' in the middle of the mixture, where he added the egg and water into the well. Then, with his wooden spoon that looked very, very, very, very old…. Began to mix the ingredients, starting with the liquid inside the well and building to the outside, before, slowly, everything was mixed together. The man was completely different in the kitchen than he was in their house, which was behind the shop. It was strange, how didffernt the personality was… I wonder if all ramen makers are like this about their ramen?

I then had to mix it myself, without instruction. According to his personal theory you learn by observation, and if someone tells you what to do after observing them doing it… then there's no point to learning it at all.

Once it was all mixed together I would dump it onto the counter, and then I would be in charge of kneading it… The problem is though it has a bit more of the texture as cookie dough, it's stiffer than bread dough, which makes it harder to knead than what I'm used to. Luckily I already knew how to knead bread, so he didn't have to teach me _those_ basics, but once the noodle dough was in a ball, and didn't stick (that was when he told me you knew it was done). I lifted my hand as he instructed and the ball went up with it. Then… it didn't drop. That meant it was still too sticky.

Again…

"Add a little more flour and knead it in." the man instructed.

"Yes sir," I said, dutifully, and reached and grabbed a small handful of flour from the bad and sprinkled it on the ball, then set to work on kneading it all over again. Once the flour was kneaded in, I lifted my hand. It didn't even go up, my hand easily slid off of it and the ball stayed on the counter.

"Too dry," he said, "Add a few drops of water."

"Yes sir," I said. This man was the kind of man who _demanded_ obedience. At least in _his_ kitchen. I added the water and kneaded it again. This time it was too sticky.

"Now it is ruined," he said, "Start over." He threw that batch away as well.

I could have cried.

It must have been an hour still I made a satisfactory batch of dough. And let me tell you, it was _barely_ satisfactory. I think he pitied me more than anything. After that, he told me how the dough needs to rest before he stretches it into the noodles. "Or the noodles will not be thin and fine but irregular." He told me. He even told me the myth that went along with that, and how to wrap the dough in a damp cloth, and the perfect place to store it while waiting. We had to wait half an hour.

After that, he taught me how to unwrap it and check if it's done resting. Thankfully, it was. I'm not sure how long I could have lasted having him stare at my back with the intent to kill and a concentration of a predator.

Then he taught me how to break the ball into portion sizes, so I could stretch it properly. I was rather excited for this part.

I sprinkled flour over it, rolled the dough out flat, fold the flattened dough multiple times, how to cut it, and finally, how to pull the noodles apart to they were actual noodles. They were irregular, regardless of what I did, but that could have also been do to my cutting. He taught me how to add the salt to the boiling water, and how to sprinkle the noodles into the water.

At first I wanted to just dump them in, after all, doesn't that make sense? But he caught my hand and slapped it with his spoon and told me firmly, while I nursed the hand, that if I dumped it in it would just stick and then everything I did would be a waste. They were only boiled for about five minutes before they were done.

Then the process of flavor…

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"Ok!" Jiraiya said, once their popsicles disappeared, "Now that you've pretty much mastered this step the rest is easy!"

_Finally!_ Naruto thought_, He's actually training me!_

"Ok, now for the little hint." Jiraiya said, "Give me your right hand!"

"Why?" Naruto asked, lifting his right hand so that Jiraiya could take it. Jiraiya held it and produced a brush with his other. Naruto blinked in surprise as Jiraiya made a small spiral in the direct center of the palm of his hand. "Why did you do that?" He asked, confused.

Jiraiya grinned, and slipped off one of his ninja gloves and showed Naruto his palm. "See?" he asked.

Naruto grinned and his eyes widened. "You have the same spiral!" he exclaimed.

"That's right." He said.

"Ok," Naruto said, "So what about the hint?"

"That _is_ thehint," Jiraiya said, and when Naruto's face showed only confusion, he said, "Ok, let me explain, here," he searched in his bag and produced a piece of white paper. "Look at this."

Naruto did. "Okay," he said, "I saw, I looked. What now?"

Jiraiya grinned, "Ok, now look at _this_ paper."

Naruto looked and saw that this new piece of paper had a black dot in the center. "O…kay…" he said slowly, "Now what?" What was with these exercises? The other, more painful ones made more sense than these!

"Heh," Jiraiya chuckled, obviously sensing Naruto's frustration, "It's not as complicated as you think. When I used the blank paper, how did you vision go?"

Naruto just blinked at him.

Jiraiya sighed. "It went all over the page, right? Because you weren't able to focus your eyes on one thing, but you had to take the whole page in." he lifted the page with the dot, "But when you looked at this page, you're vision was focused on the center of the page, because the dot drew your focus in."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Oh! Yeah!" he said, "That makes sense! So what's the hint!?"

_Is this guy retarded?_ Jiraiya thought, staring at the short boy. "It's called CONCENTRATION." He said.

"Concentration…huh?" Naruto said, staring at the dot. "So this dot…"

Jiraiya sighed, "So let me explain _further_," he said, "Since you obviously are having a hard time getting the point. When you were looking at the blank paper your focus was traveling all over the page, but when you were looking at the page with the dot, there is a target on the page for you to focus your energy on, and therefore it becomes much easier to look at the center of the page, while before there was nothing to focus on. This is called concentration. When there is a target," he said, pointing to the dot, "You're eyes will unconsciously follow it, you do it without thinking. This is called 'Concentration of one'." He paused, and then continued, "And you come to a state where you can draw on maximum power because your brain is focused and calm."

"O…kay…." Naruto said.

"You must always concentrate!" Jiraiya instructed.

"Kay!" Naruto said, backing away from the enthusiastic man.

"Well," Jiraiya said, "Aren't you the kid who always got yelled at in the Academy for lack of concentration?"

Naruto shrank from the man.

"However," Jiraiya said, relaxing a bit, "When you broke that ball earlier, you must have focused a lot of chakra into the palm of your hand, and pushed your power to the limit, right?"

"Yeah." Naruto said, "It hurt a lot."

Jiraiya nodded, "That makes sense." Jiraiya said.

"So?" Naruto asked, "What about it."

Jiraiya felt like smacking the kid. _I'm tired of having to explain every detail to this stupid kid…_ he thought, sighing with exasperation. "Well," he said, "From now on, when you focus your energy into your right hand, focus your energy and chakra on that dot. That way your chakra will be more even and controlled, because you'll have better focus."

"I get it!" Naruto exclaimed enthusiastically.

_Finally_… Jiraiya thought. "Ok!" he said, "I'm going to go do some research on Tsunade before Grace comes back and kicks my ass." He turned around and started walking away.

"So… uh… Perverted Sage?" Naruto asked.

"What?" Jiraiya stopped and turned around.

"Why are you, if you're, you know, a Sannin, so frightened of Grace?"

Jiraiya shuddered, "She's a _woman_," he whispered, "And let me tell you—and the Nara clan can testify—woman, when angry, are much, _much_, more terrifying than ninja…"

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I slurped up the ramen noodles with relish. There's some sort of satisfaction out of eating your own food, food you toiled for _hours_ to make.

"I have to say," the man said, chuckling and having a completely different attitude than he did before, "You have potential, kid."

"Ganks," I said while slurping up the ramen.

"Don't choke," The old man's sister laughed, handing me a glass of water.

"Thank you," I said after I swallowed. "Thank you so much for letting me help you—although I don't think I actually helped that much."

"Don't think about it," The woman laughed. "You can help me inside!"

"Alright!" I said.

Whenever people are extremely thankful for your help, no matter how crappy it was, it always makes you want to help those people again and again. These were those kind of people. The woman and I walked into the house, leaving the man to tend to the ramen shop. It appears that they were a rather popular shop. The woman closed the door behind me and then, said, "Ok, out with it."

I froze and turned around and stared at her. She was standing, rather stiffly, with crossed arms. She looked somewhat irritated, but more, just stern.

"What… what are you talking about?" I asked.

"I know you're a girl." She said, "You may be able to fool everyone else, but I can tell. You can't fool me."

Crap! Am I that obvious!? "How did you—"

"The way you move, the way you made the noodles, the way you eat, the way you talk," she said, "None of those are the ways of a man—but the ways of a woman." She smirked, "You may be able to _pass _as a boy, albeit a very feminine one, and I'll admit, for that kind of guy you make a rather attractive one, but at a closer inspection it's not hard at all to see that you're a woman."

I wondered briefly if that strange woman in that restaurant knew that I was a girl. "Please don't—"

"Don't worry," she said, "I won't tell anyone. I won't even ask you why you're masquerading as a boy—I don't have the right, nor the will, to find out. That's your business and I don't want to pry. However," she shook a finger at me, "Whatever you're up to—it better be good! I won't tolerate thievery or injustice in this town and I _will_ report a suspicious person if you're up to no good."

I gulped. "No," I said, "You don't have to worry, I'm not up to no good, I just…can't let people know who I am."

She raised an eyebrow, then she nodded, "I understand," she said. "Well, I'll help protect your identity by making sure no one finds out, Masashi." She said, deliberately using my fake name. I wondered if she thought I was running away from a lover, or a family, or maybe she thought I was eloping! That would be funny.

"Thank you." I said.

"Well," she said, "I like you—and so does my brother. You're a hard worker, there aren't many of those, you know. And you're polite and decent." She smiled, "If you need a place to stay, you're welcome to stay here."

"Oh," I said, "I wouldn't want to intrude; besides, I already have a place to stay."

"I see…" she said. She looked at the clock, and I looked there too. I couldn't see what time it was—or more, I couldn't tell what time it was. It had Japanese symbols on it. "My!" she said, "Is it really five o'clock?"

"Five?" I said, alarmed, "Oh! I have to get back!" I walked up to the woman and took her hands, "Thank you so much for today," I said, "But I have to go. Have a nice night!" I waved as I walked out of the house. I waved at the man, who gave me a salute, then told me if I ever needed a job to come looking this way. He then gave me take out ramen for me to take home. I waved again and walked towards the forest.

I collapsed when I reached the top of the stairs and looked up to see Naruto collapsed a few meters away. Looks like we both had an exhausting day. "Naruto!" I said, "I have ramen for you!"

The words were like magic. He sprang up with renewed energy and walked over to me. "Where? Where?"

"Here," I said, pushing the box towards him. "Where'd you get it?" he asked.

"I… the ramen maker gave it to me…" I said. "I worked there—all day!"

"You worked… at a ramen shop…" Naruto said, disbelievingly.

"It's true!" I protested, and showed him my flourly hands.

"Whoa!" he said, "Those looked like Old Man's hands!" By 'old man' he was referring to the ramen maker in Kohona.

"Yup!" I said, "I made the dough, made the noodles, made the soup and ate it!"

"You're so lucky!" he said, "I wish I could make ramen from scrap!"

"You don't have the patience." I said. "Or the concentration."

"Hey!" he said, "I'm working on it!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked dazed.

"My training!" he said, waving his arms, "My training!"

"Ok! Ok!" I said, "I get it! I get it!" I stood up and picked up his ramen and then walked over to the bench and sat down. "Ok, let's eat!"

"Ok!" he said. I passed it to him and he opened it and grinned, "Eat up! Thanks for the food!"

"Hmm…" I said. I myself wasn't hungry. Too much ramen today. Too much ramen… I looked at the bowl and gasped. "You're done already?! How is that even possible?"

He set the bowl down and stretched. "I'm the RAMEN KING!" he shouted.

"You sure are…" I muttered. "That's incredible…"

"That's what I keep telling you…" he shook his head, "Time to keep training—don't disturb me."

"I won't…" I said, still in awe.

He stood a few meters away and took a deep breath. "Ooookay…" he said out loud, closing his eyes. "Time to concentrate…"

Suddenly the kid began laughing hysterically and collapsed, holding his sides. "What the—what's wrong?" I asked, sitting up straight. What would make him start laughing like that?

"I just suddenly thought of the pervy sage!" he said, "His face making a face!" he made a comical expression.

I burst out laughing. No wonder he was having a hard time concentrating! I would too if _that_ image popped into my head.

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Sakura sat down. Tenten was on a mission, and this was the only time that old bat would let her into the hospital room to see Sasuke…

She gazed down at the sleeping boy. It's been a whole week since Grace left, and Sasuke left five days ago… and when Ryuichi returned five days ago… with Sasuke… Sasuke was in this state… Sakura clenched her fists, no… she clenched _Grace's_ fists. Why… why didn't Grace come back? What happened? Why was Ryuichi looking like a ghost when he came back, with Sasuke in this state?

And Ryuichi… she reached down and petted the little dog next to her softly. "There there," she told Bingley, "Don't fret." The little dog had a few bandages but after being treated by the Inuzuka clan's best veterinarians and he's on a fast recovery. Sakura only wished Sasuke would make such a recovery.

Ryuichi… she frowned. If the rumors were true, as punishment for not returning with Grace, he was demoted from the ANBU, and there's even a chance, she heard, that he might be stripped from his title of Jounin. If _that_ happened, he'd be nothing more than a rogue ninja protected by the village. A criminal. Somewhat of an extreme punishment… she thought. The elders of the village don't look kindly on those who fail their commands, I suppose, she thought, especially when it concerns a major political figure like Grace.

But still… what did that man, whoever he was… what did he do to Sasuke? Sakura reached out and brushed her fingers across his forehead. "Sasuke…" She murmured, wondering if this was how it sounded to Grace when she said his name. Sasuke didn't respond. Her fingers ran down his cheek to his chin, then it dropped to his chest, where her hand rested softly. Then she brought her hand to her lap. Why did… this have to happen to him?

She felt tears welling up in her eyes.

Why did this have to happen to Sasuke?

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The scream echoed through the dark underground hallways. Kabuto stood at the doorway, calmly watching the putrid man writhe in pain on the bed. Blood oozed out of him and he shuddered, coughing blood. The walls around him were streaked with his own blood.

"My…arms…" he gasped.

"Please Lord Orochimaru!" an attendant by his side exclaimed, "Take your medicine—"

The man chocked on a strangled sound deep in his throat as he gagged on his own blood. Blood seem to shoot out of him from all directions, the wall, the floor, even Lord Orochimaru's bed. The crumpled mass of bones and muscle and blood lay in a drowning pool beside the bed.

"My…my…" Kabuto said as he walked into the room, "You look great."

"Shut the hell up…" Orochimaru growled, glaring up through bloody vision at the gray haired man.

"Please take your medicine," Kabuto said, "And do I always have to clean your room whenever I get back?"

Orochimaru merely glared at him, "I don't need that shitty medicine," he snapped.

Kabuto pushed his glasses up his nose, "I made that medicine myself," he reminded the snake, "It should at least ease your pain…"

Orochimaru's immobile and black arms twitched with an unconscious pain that he was able to control. "This burning pain…" he growled, "In my arms… it is so much greater than I ever imagined it would be…"

"It was the Third Hokage's final curse," Kabuto said, "No wonder it's painful."

"No need for further explanations," Orochimaru growled. "I've had enough of waiting—the idiot Jiraiya and the brats are taking too long. I want Tsunade _now._ I can't last much longer without her, I need her medical ninjutsu immediately…"

"Yes," Kabuto said, "According to my spy Grace is no longer searching for Tsunade, it appears that Jiraiya is catching on that we're targeting her, he's probably doing his best to keep her from being a suspicious suspect…" he grinned, "However, it seems that Tsunade is at a place called Tanzaku… It won't be long before Jiraiya obtains that information and heads there himself."

"I see…" Orochimaru said, "And if he goes, that means that Grace will be heading there as well… no need to have Grace lead us to Tsunade… we'll have Tsunade lead them all to her."

"When we meet up with the girl," Kabuto said, "Do you still want me to test her?"

"Yes," Orochimaru said, "I want you to…"

"_If_ I can get her away from Jiraiya," Kabuto said, "It would be easier if I could just kidnap—"

"No," Orochimaru cut in, "It's not time yet… I want _Sasuke_ to bring her to me… Sasuke won't be fond of me if he finds out I kidnapped his beloved…" he smirked at these words. "Just collect the blood sample while we're there."

"That will be difficult," Kabuto informed him, "With the mental state that she's in, she might—"

"I don't give a damn!" Orochimaru snapped, "Just follow your orders… so…" he said, glancing up at the far wall, "Tanzaku… huh?"

"She won't be an easy target as well…" Kabuto said, "We have our work cut out for us."

Orochimaru chuckled. "The best cure is always the hardest one to find…"

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Jiraiya walked into the tavern and glanced around. Yup, he thought, this looks like a place where people might recognize her. "Hey," he said, walking up to a man at the counter, "You ever seen this woman before?"

The man glanced at the picture. "Hmm… never seen her."

"I see…" Jiraiya said.

"I know that person." Someone said from behind Jiraiya.

Jiraiya looked around with surprise.

"I even know about her whereabouts," the man chortled.

"This round's my treat," Jiraiya said slyly. "So where'd she be at?"

The man grinned, "Tanzaku."

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_To be continued…_

WHOOO! CHAPTER 50!!! OVER 11,000 WORDS!!! WHOOO!!! I'VE HAD TOO MUCH SUGAR!!!! Which is rare, since I don't really like sweat things… o.O

Plus it turns out I actually broke my foot, not sprained it, so I haven't been able to do anything to exert my energy… and writing takes too much concentration… anyway, sorry again that the chapter is so late. I'm pumped for the next chapter because they'll actually get to meet Tsunade in it (OMfG SPOILERS) which FYI means (**O**h **M**anic **f**UnKy **G**eorge _(curious)_)

Ok… I _need_ to lay off the energy drinks… __________________________________________

Ok, I'll shut up now.

Until later my little minions… insert evil manic hyper sugar high laugh

fUnKyToEs


	51. The Fifth Hokage: Part XIII

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part XIII

WORDS: 6, 149 words (short, sorry)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that is copyrighted.

BEFOREWORD: Whoo…. (exhausted) School started this past week and a few weeks before that I started a new job so time sort of just slipped through my fingers… the odd thing was this chapter was finished _weeks_ ago but I never remember when I had a chance to upload it… o.o (what an odd person…) Anyway, I apologize to those who are frustrated with my forgetfulness lazy. I shall hope that I do better in the future and pray that you'll forgive me for the past… *goes into begging puppy mode* Don't worry, I'll make it up in the future (just wait in see what I have in store for Grace… evil grin)

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Whooo-eee!" Shizune squealed as money poured out of the machine. "I can't believe how lucky we are!!! Three sevens! What luck!"

Her companion stepped away from the machine, staring at the three sevens with sinking dread.

"Why are you still unhappy?" Shizune asked, "You won! I can't believe it…"

Tsunade turned and gave her younger companion a worried look. "I don't like the feeling of this place," she said, "Let's get out of here fast."

"But," Shizune began as her mistress began to walk off, "We should at least explore the castle a bit more! I mean, this place is beautiful!"

Tsunade ignored her and instead picked up her pace.

"Wait—Lady Tsunade!" Shizune hurried after her, "What is it?" She asked, "What is it about this place that makes you feel strange?"

"Ok," Tsunade said, "We'll take a quick look around then get out of here, as fast as possible."

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Naruto collapsed. He pushed himself up off the ground, whimpering slightly as pain scorched his body, then rolled over onto his back and lay there, trying not to move, his eyes closed. _This is the limit…_ he thought_, It hurts too much to go on… and I have no more chakra left… I should rest a bit…_

He opened his eyes to see leaves floating across the sky. There was a slight breeze blowing them softly. Naruto blinked as one landed on his forehead, drifting down slowly and deliberately, as if its quest in life was to land on his forehead to begin with.

He touched it with his hand, remembering the last time he had trained with leaves.

_Iruka-sensei clenched his fists, barely able to control his anger as he glared down at the four kids standing before him. He growled deep in his throat, before he was finally unable to control himself anymore, "You guys can't concentrate on anything!" He yelled, "You'll never become a great ninja if this continues!"_

"_How the hell are we supposed to sit still?" Kiba sneered, "Right, Akamaru?"_

"_Yeah, sensei," Naruto whined, "Can't you make the lectures a bit shorter? And less boring?"_

_It was all Iruka-sensei could do to not kill the little brats where they stood. "EXTRA CLASSES!" _

_The four boys exclaimed protest with great volume, but none could get out of their 'doom'._

"_Hey," Naruto said, "What are you holding?"_

_Iruka-sensei grinned. "During this detention," he said, "I'm gonna' teach you guys the way our Konoha masters used to train in ancient times." He held up a leaf, which was the object of obscurity that had fascinated the boys earlier. He placed said leaf on Naruto's head._

"_What are you putting it on my head for?" Naruto asked._

"_This training required you to concentrate all your chakra onto this leaf which will sit on your forehead!" Iruka-sensei grinned, "It's a very old yet effective way of shaping up one's concentration."_

"_Huh…" Naruto murmured, while stretching his eyes to see the leaf on his forehead. _

"_You'll only be acknowledged as a great ninja if you have good concentration! The Kohona sign on my headband originates from this training."_

"_What?"_

"_Haha!"_

"_Does that even matter?!"_

"_The strength of a ninja is all that counts, after all, right!"_

"_I know!!"_

_Iruka-sensei sighed in defeat._

Naruto watched as his hand quivered with something that was beyond exhaustion. "If only…" he said quietly, "If only I had paid attention to Iruka-sensei back then… this is… just like then…" he forced himself to sit up, "But it's too late to regret it now," he licked his thumb, then touched the swirl, wetting the ink and spreading it across his hand to create the emblem of his village. He glanced at the bench to see Grace soundly sleeping on it. Looks like she's not going to wake up any time soon. He stood up, and closed his eyes. "Alright!" he said, trying to muster as much energy as he possibly could, "Alright! I can do this!" _Must concentrate… must concentrate… CONCENTRATE!_

He positioned his hand over and under the ball as he did before. He closed his eyes, and, like the time he imagined Jiraiya's face, opened his mind to emptiness. Wide formed, and within it, the Leaf symbol appeared. Dark clouds swirled around it, growing thicker and more tangled, until the world became black again. He opened his eyes wide, _NOW!_ He moved his hands quicker and quicker, pushing the ball into the ground. The ball exploded in a hurricane of wind, creating a small crater where Naruto had stood and pushing Naruto back ten meters away from the spot where he had just, moment ago, stood. He slammed into the ground, and would have skidded another ten meters if a large hand didn't slap down on his back and hold him in place.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It was the most terrifying thing _ever._ The first thing I knew was a blast of wind, and then came the sound of an explosion. The bench I was lying on flipped backwards, sending me flying in its wake. Leaves, dirt and debris were flying everywhere, and then, all of a sudden, it all stopped. I groaned and peeked over the top of my overturned bench to see Naruto lying on the ground. Jiraiya had his foot on him, apparently having just stopped him from flying even further from the crater a few meters away from him.

I let out an exhale then jumped up and ran over to them. "What just happened?" I asked, terrified. "What happened to Naruto?" I crouched and poked him, and when he uttered a small groan of victory, I grabbed him and pulled him into a tight embrace. "What did you just do?" I asked, accusingly.

"I did it," he said, "I… did it…"

"It looks like you've mastered the second stage," Jiraya said, genuinely impressed.

"Wow," I said, "Are you kidding? And I slept through it?" I looked down at the little boy in my arms, "Amazing…" I whispered, "I'm so impressed!"

"Let's start the third stage…" Naruto said quietly.

I stood up and dropped him. He let out a painful 'oof' as his head hit the ground. "Are you kidding me?" I shouted, "Look what happened at just the second stage! You have to recover your energy! You stupid twig! Imbecile! Dumb ass! Knuckle head!"

"There, there," Jiraiya said, shaking his hands, "There's no need to overreact, Grace."

"Overreact?" I said, my voice rising, "Over_react_? I'm NOT OVERREACTING!"

Jiraya retreated a few steps, "Ok, ok," he said, "Jeez, what are you, PMSing or something?"

"What was that?" I growled.

"Forget I asked…" Jiraiya said, "Anyway, Naruto, Grace is right, you need to rest before you do anything. Besides, we need to leave it till later, we have to go find Tsunade right now."

Tsunade?" I asked, does that mean he found a lead? "Did you find her—I mean, do you know where she is?"

"Yeah," Jiraiya said, "She's at Tanzaku Castle."

Isn't that the same place… oh well, never mind. "When are we leaving?"

"As soon as we get our stuff together," he said, "Why don't you go back to the hotel and get our stuff?"

"Why don't _you_," I said, dryly, "You the _ninja_."

"Why you… fine. I _will_ be quicker and more _efficient_." He disappeared to prove his point.

"Why you…" I muttered as he left. "That guy… he's going to get a beating…"

"From you?" Naruto asked wearily from the ground.

"Nah," I said, grinning, "Someone _much_, _much_ stronger than me."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Oooh!" Shizune exclaimed happily, shading her eyes as she gazed up at the tall ancient building. Building wasn't the right word for it; it was… a castle in the truest sense. The slender dark haired woman grinned and turned to her opposite companion, "Isn't this great?"

Her companion scowled, flicking her blonde hair off her large chest to behind her, "I don't like this place…" she said quietly, "I want to get out of here as fast as possible. I'm getting a bad _vibe_."

"A bad vibe, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked her older companion, although the blonde didn't look older than twenty-four, twenty-five. It was hard to believe that the woman had training Shizune since Shizune was just a little girl, and Tsunade was already an adult at the time. "Why would you be getting a bad vibe from here?"

"I don't know," Tsunade said, staring at the castle with growing apprehension. "For some reason—" The words were snatched from her throat before she was even able to take a breath in. The castle erupted in an explosion of such volume that it sent dust clouds up farther than the eyes could see and covered the ground with a relentless dust cloud.

"Wha…" Shizune said, more as an excuse to exhale than truly understand what she was saying.

Tsunade took a step back, her heart clenching in growing dread. _That has to be…_

Two figures began to emerge from the dust, and there, riding leisurely atop the head of a gigantic snake, was the last person Tsunade would ever wish to see.

"That's…" Shizune whispered, horrified.

_Orochimaru…_ Tsunade thought, her eyebrows digging angrily at her eyes.

"I finally found you," Orochimaru said, smirking, "And what luck, looks like the other three aren't here yet."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Alright!" Jiraiya yelled, "LET'S GO!"

When only silence greeted him, he turned around to face us. "What was that unenthusiastic response?" he whined.

"What do you think?" I muttered, gazing at the strange design on my kimono in boredom. "What's with the unexpectedly enthusiastic attitude for work?"

"Yeah, old man," Naruto said, in the same an amused monotone that I used, "Stop acting like an immature little kid."

"Never thought the day would come when _Naruto_ would scold _me_ on being an 'immature little kid'." Jiraiya muttered dejectedly. "Regardless of the unenthusiastic behavior of the two younger companions of our brave hero," he said to no one in particular, "And so…" he continued dramatically, "He must venture out, his family and friends against him… all alone… no—"

"What's _with_ you today?" I asked.

"Nothing," he shrugged, adjusting the strap on the large scroll on his back, "I'm just excited we're close."

To tell you the truth, I'm pretty excited to. To finally meet Tsunade! It's every Kunoichi's dream… I bet Tenten just can't wait to meet her… Plus, maybe Tsunade can help me get rid of whatever is wrong with me… so that incident at the ramen shop won't happen again…

"So," Jiriaya said, "Naruto, are you in a bad mood or something?"

"Because—because—because we're in the middle of training!" Naruto suddenly shouted. He held up three fingers, "You said there were THREE steps! Right? Right?" he took a deep breath, "We've only been able to do TWO steps! What about my training, huh?"

"Wow," I said, "You _are_ a genius, to be able to figure all that out by yourself!" I was only _slightly_ sarcastic. Okay, it was all sarcasm.

He ignored me, and glared at the tall white haired man in front of us.

"Well, too bad," I said, "We have to follow our mission, you dimwit. Look," I said, "There will be plenty of time for Jiraiya to be training you, but be grateful! You're on a mission to find the fifth Hokage!"

"Actually, Grace is only half correct," Jiraiya said.

"What?" I said.

"The truth is, the third step you can even do while walking."

Naruto's eyes lit up brighter than lanterns. "Really? That's so cool! No way! Let's do it! Right now!" he rushed up ahead of Jiraiya, "What are we waiting for! Let's GO!" he laughed.

"Amazing how easy he is to manipulate," I muttered.

"You're telling me…" Jiraiya replied. "YO! Naruto! COME BACK HERE!"

"Will you stop shouting?" I asked, "It's really a bother."

"Excuse me, your _highness_." He sneered.

"You piss me off."

"Then my job here is done."

"Why you…" I'm _sooooo_ getting Tsunade to kick his ass as soon as we get to her…

Naruto rushed back and jogged backwards excitedly in front of Jiraiya. "So?" he said, "What's the mission? What's the mission? I mean, what's the next step? Huh? What's the next step?"

"Wow," I said, "He's so excited he got the words mixed up…" it sort of feels like déjà vu…

"Jiraiya grinned and reached into his shirt, pulling out a balloon. Well, it hasn't been blown up yet. It was just the rubber. He blew air into it, and it was rather impressive, because it did it in one go. Then he tied it and tossed it to Naruto. He blew another one and held it in his own hand. I gazed in utter confusion. For once, and believe me it was refreshing, I didn't have a _clue_ what was going on. I don't remember the details of this at all. It was so weird. It was like… for ONCE I'm normal! Is it sad that something like… being normal makes me so happy I could weep? I really could. I'm feeling teary eyed.

Naruto held the ball carefully, gazing at it for a moment, then said, "What's this?"

"What does it look like?" Jiraiya snapped.

"A balloon." I said.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Jiraiya muttered.

"But… this looks… like a normal balloon." Naruto said.

"That's because it _is_ a normal balloon," Jiraiya said. "If you remember, the first step to spin, and the second step was to add power. And now," he concluded, "The third step is this!" he held the ball.

Naruto and I stared at it, waiting for something to happen.

Nothing happened.

Once again, I realized what was going on before it was explained. Looks like I'm not normal… damn…

"What the heck?" Naruto shouted, "Nothing happened, stupid!"

Jiraiya smirked, "It may _look_ like nothing happened, but actually all the action is going on inside of the balloon." He held up his other hand and a gust of chakra began to swirl into it in a perfect sphere. "In order to create the rasengan, you need to have the spinning, as well as the power, but you must confine it, like a miniature typhoon."

"So the ball in your left hand… is the same as the balloon in your right hand?" Naruto asked.

"That's it!" Jiraiya said, grinning. "This step is combining all the steps you've learned so far and condensing it into one. However, it's also condensing the space in which you're allowed to use."

"I can't pop the balloon, right?" Naruto asked.

"That's right!" Jiraiya said, "Wow, you've been getting quicker, Naruto."

"Soo…" Naruto said, "Why do we have to condense it?"

Jiriaya sighed. "Here, let me demonstrate." With the little rasengan in his left hand, he rammed his hand into a tree, however, he didn't condense the chakra, and let the swirls and spinning go crazy. It created a spiral on the tree, but nothing dramatically powerful. "Now," he said, "This is after you've mastered the third step." This time, it was condensed.

My eyes widened, and I'm sure that Naruto's eyes were just as wide. The rasengan gorged a hole in the tree, making it look like a giant beast took a giant bite out of it. "That's…" I said.

"Incredible!" Naruto finished.

"If you can keep this tornado in its form, the power doesn't dissipate, and it'll start to spin faster, and its power will be highly concentrated, thus creating the effect that I just showed you."

Naruto gazed at the hole that Jiraiya had caused, then exclaimed, "I can do this!" and set to work. Jiraiya and I continued on, both of us suited to just ignore Naruto while we're traveling. Besides, if I worry any more about him I'll have a freaking heart attack.

I heard an explosion and… yup, there went my heart attack. "Naruto!" I exclaimed, spinning around.

The balloon was nowhere in sight.

"Don't slack off," Jiraiya said, "You've gotta charge one hundred percept of your spin and power into it. Otherwise it'll explode just like that time."

I see… so that's what happened. "We should get moving," I said, "I want to reach Tsunade before…" I trailed off.

"Before _whom_?" Jiraiya asked.

"Um…" I said. "I think?"

He stared at me, looking at me with sharp eyes, then nodded, understanding what I was thinking. It's a good thing we think alike.

Wait a minute…

Forget the fact that I just admitted to thinking in the same way as Jiraiya—It. Never. Happened.

It was best not to alarm Naruto. "Right," he said, "Naruto, we're picking up the pace."

"What?" he said as Jiraiya threw him another balloon.

"But…" Naruto whimpered.

"No complaining. Let's go!" Jiraiya shouted.

And we followed, although I was filled with apprehension at what we'd find at Tanzaku Castle…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The two pairs stared at each other for a small amount of time, before Tsunade spoke. "It's been quite a while, Orochimau." She told her former teammate.

Orochimaru smirked. "I've been looking for you for quite awhile… and I even had a nice little plan set up but unfortunately it didn't work out…"

"What are you talking about?" Tsunade snapped, "What have you got with me now? Better not be tying to waste my time talking about old days."

Orochimaru smirked painfully, "I have a little… favor… to ask of you."

Tsunade's eyes slid from his serpentine eyes to his arms, which were hanging lifeless from his shoulders. Quickly, she evaluated his statistics. _Erratic heartbeat, his face looks pale and feverish. Must have had a long period of exhaustion. And that arm…_

"Lady Tsunade, I assume," Kabuto interjected, "That you've already figured out what ails Lord Orochimaru."

"Forget it," Tsunade snapped, waving them away with a hand, "I'm not interested. I quit being a medical ninja a long time ago and I won't go back to those days for _your_ sake," she spat.

"Unfortunately," Kabuto replied, "We can't do that. You see, this wound… no one else but you can heal it. But you… Lady Tsunade, one of the Legendary Three Sannin, along with Lord Orochimaru and Jiraiya, and a medical specialist, you alone can cure it."

She didn't reply. "That wound," She finally said, "That wound on your arm is not an ordinary wound." _Is it some secret seal or curse?_ "What have you done to it?"

Orochimaru scowled. "Just a little… memento from when I killed the Third."

Tsunade's eyes widened in shock. Sensei… killed by Orochimaru? "You monster…" she growled.

"Heh," Orochimaru smirked, "Don't make a scary face like that. Something with form is destined to crumble and the same goes for people. You too," he said slowly, "You know of this, don't you, Tsunade? Since you, have lost the two most beloved people in your life."

Kabuto turned towards him in surprise. _She… lost the two people she loved the most?_ He thought, bewildered. What was Orochimaru game? Was he going to use this piece of information against her? _Of course he will_, he smirked, _That's how Orochimaru plays his pieces_.

Orochimaru smirked, having finally captured his prey, "Ah… those two deaths… were _truly_ _terrible_ ways to die…"

Shizune growled and jumped in front of Tsunade, pulling back her sleeve to reveal darts attached to her forearm. She pulled the trigger and the darts whizzed toward Orochimaru. Kabuto jumped in front of his lord and grabbed the only one that would have made its make. He stared at if for a moment, realizing that it was poisoned. _Good thing that the poison didn't hit me_. He thought.

"Calm down Shizune." Tsunade said.

Shizune was breathing heavily.

_That assistant,_ Kabuto thought_, she's good._

Tsunade cleared her throat, then said, the corners of her lips turning up at the edges. "Orochimaru…" she said quietly, "You haven't changed at all." Shizune turned around in shock, only to see a fake smile plastered across her Lady's face. "You know how I am, don't you?" Tsunade said through clenched teeth, "Don't kid around with me."

Her hand slammed into the wall behind her, completely shattering it with her insane strength. "Or…" she said, glaring at him with such seething hate that Kabuto took a step back, "Or I'll kill you."

"Hold on," Kabuto said, "We're not here to fight with you, we came here to negotiate."

"We _have_ negotiated," Tsunade said, "Get. Out. Of. My. Sight."

"You're the only one who can cure his arm," Kabuto insisted. "We're not saying it'll be a one way bargain. How about we make a deal?"

"I'll count to five. Get out by then, or else." Tsunade told him.

"Please calm down," Kabuto said, "It won't be a bad barga…"

"Five." Tsunade began. "Four."

Kabuto sighed.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"I can…" Orochimaru finally spoke, "I can revive your brother and the man you loved with the forbidden jutsu I have developed."

Tsunade's eyes widened with surprise and shock.

He continued, "It's been five seconds, and you haven't killed us yet… does this mean we have a deal?"

Tsunade looked down.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So this is Tanzaku?" I asked. "I thought Tanzaku was a castle?"

"That's the castle, the original Tanzaku. This is a settlement that was originally created by farmers who were governed by the officials of Tanzaku castle," Jiraiya explained, "And over the years the castle was abandoned and the farming settlement became a village."

"I see…" I said. I suppose that makes sense, but I thought that we were going to the castle?

"She's probably at a gambling den," Jiraiya said. "Ah, let's go in there!"

A few moments later….

"Ah!" the man sitting on the whicker mat said, "I know that woman… she was saying… she's going ta' get back her loss of 'there'."

"'There'?"Jiraiya asked, "Where's that?"

Naruto stood where the shoes were kept, practicing with his little balloon. If I remember correctly, Jiraiya will have to gamble for information, but looses, but then Naruto's balloon explodes and changes the dice so he wins… I wonder…

The man whom Jiraiya was talking to held up two dice and placed it within a cup, then slammed the cup down on the ground in front of him. "We can't sell you info for free, you see?" he said, "Let's gamble for it. If you win, I'll talk. If you lose, you must pay."

"Sure," Jiraiya said, sitting in front of the man.

"Pick "Cho" or "Han"." The man instructed.

"Right, I pick…" Jiraiya paused. "I pick "Cho"."

"If it's "Han" then I win." The man warned. "Alright, let's see what's it is."

He lifted the cup. 2.5.

I gulped. That's an odd number! That means Jiriaya lost! Quick! Naruto! But Naruto was watching some other men gamble, not paying attention to his balloon.

I thought fast, and acted faster. I rushed over to where Jiraiya and the man was, and bent down, overly exposing my chest (Yes, I'm dressed as a girl), clumping my feet as I went, to knock the dice. "Excuse me, mister," I soothed, "How long have you been gambling?"

He looked from my chest to my face to my hair to my chest again, and smirked, "Well," he began.

"I won!" Jiraiya exclaimed happily.

"Wow!" I said, "That's amazing, mister Jiraiya!" Yes, I'm aware that I'm acting stupid. But I just interrupted a gambling match, I _have_ to act stupid to pull that off.

The man groaned, glancing at me and looked jealously on as I praised Jiraiya.

We left soon after Jiraiya gathered information from the sulking man. Ha! Take that you pervert!

"Damn it!" Jiraiya muttered, "She's nowhere to be seen!"

I felt Naruto bend down and turned around to see what he was doing. He picked up a coin and walked over to one of those gambling machines. You know the kind, the kind that you put some money in and by random chance you might win some cash back?

Yeah, that kind.

"Wow!" I said, "You're so lucky!" I said, "You won so much money! If only we had_ you_ gamble with that man back there, I wouldn't have to overexpose my boobs to him!"

"Gama-chan!" Naruto squealed to his full purse, "You look so cute when you're full of coins!"

"Regardless of Naruto's surprising luck at gambling games," Jiraiya said, "We have a problem. We still can't seem to get a grasp on Tsunade."

"What are you talking about?" I said, "She's at the castle. Why'd you think I brought it up in the first place?"

They stared at me.

"What?" I said. "I mean, you can't blame _me_ for this."

"You…" Jiraiya seethed, "You _knew_ she was there for how long?"

"Um…" I said, "do you want to know how long I've _technically_ known, or how long I've known since the fact was relevant to my own life?"

"The latter." Jiraiya said.

"Since it became relevant to my own life," I shrugged, "I didn't know what the castle was called, but I know that she somewhere at a castle, and that the castle is now destroyed."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Probably…" Jiraiya said, giving me a warning look.

"That's right," I said. _Orochimaru_… "We'll have to keep our guard up."

"Why is it," Jiraiya muttered, "That I bring you along for exactly this reason and only when it's too late are you actually useful?"

"What does that mean?" I said, "It's not too late. If we hurry we might get to her before she leaves the castle."

"Right," Jiraiya said, "Naruto, Grace, let's go!"

"Roger!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Don't you want to meet them again?" Orochimaru asked slowly.

Tsunade's eyes looked down sadly. _Yuuki… Dan…_ "If I cure your arms, what are you planning on doing?"

Orochimaru smirked, "I hate lying to you, my dear," he said, "So, I suppose I'll let you in on the truth… I'll be getting what I want. I will obliterate the Leaf for the last time."

Shizune narrowed her eyes, "What?! Destroy the Leaf Village?" She growled.

Tsunade's lips trembled.

"And your answer is?" Kabuto asked.

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune exclaimed, "You can't! Don't listen to the offers of these liars! Your brother and boyfriend wouldn't want you to do this either! Are the wishes of two people more… Lady Tsunade! Your dreams, you wishes… have you forgotten them!?"

"Shut up!" Tsunade screamed.

Shuzune was silenced.

"Of course," Kabuto shrugged, "You don't have to answer now, however, we hope to come to a peaceful resolution. Also," he continued, "This forbidden jutsu needs a supply of life, so you'll need to supply two good bodies."

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune shouted, "Kill Orochimaru while he's weak! This a good opportunity! If Lady Tsunade and I fight together, we can definitely beat these bastards!"

Orochimaru grinned. Time for his last trick. He brought, painfully and slowly, one of his hands to his mouth. It was so laborious that for a moment he thought he wouldn't be able, but the horrified look on Tsunade's face as he bit into his finger, and let the blood drip from it was more than rewarding.

It was… revitalizing.

Tsunade took a step away, shivering at the sight of the blood. She whimpered.

"I may be weak now," he said, "But I still know Tsunade's weakness." He smirked, "You still haven't cured it completely yet, have you? The Kong Shrei Zheng… the terrifying blood disease. You phobia of blood…"

Tsunade shivered and clasped her hand protectively in front of her in a desperate defense against Orochimaru's blood.

"We should get going, Kabuto," Orochimaru said. "Tsunade," Orochimaru said, turning away, "I anxiously await your answer."

Kabuto and Orochimaru disappeared.

Shizune turned toward her mistress, but stopped at the sight of Tsunade shaking. "Lady Tsunade…" Shizune whispered. "Are you…"

"Let's go…" Tsunade whispered. "I… I need to leave this place…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Again," I said, as we walked down the street, "It's. Not. My. Fault." I took a deep breath, "I warned you we might get to the castle too late. It's not _my_ fault you guys can't get a hint."

"What kind of hint?" Jiraiya snapped, "Maybe if you actually GAVE one we wouldn't have this problem!"

"As a matter of fact!" I snapped, "I did! Do you really think I would know that there was a castle, and think that there was ONLY a Tanzaku CASTLE? What more of a hint do you need?"

"Shut up!" he retorted. "Fine, we'll eat here for dinner and finish looking for her in the morning."

Jiraiya and Naruto, at the prospect of food, used their _so cool _(sarcasm!!!) ninja skills to appear at the door (at the end of the street) and enter. "What jerks," I muttered, "Leaving me to walk all the way down the street…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hey!" Tsunade jeered, "I want more—hiccup—beer over here!"

"You shouldn't drink so much!" Shizune said, worriedly, "You drunk…"

"Whatever," Tsunade burped. She leaned over the table and pouting at her food, her large breasts serving as a cushion. "It doesn't matter…."

"Yes," Shizune said, "It does matter!"

The curtain at the entrance was lifted and two figures walked in. "And that's why we have to train Grace so she can use the sexy jutsu," Jiraiya said as he walked in.

Tsunade stared in shock as the two walked in. Jiraiya looked up and stared at her as well. "Tsunade!" he exclaimed, "Well, look who it its!"

"Jiraiya…!" Tsunade said, still in shock, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"That's Tsunade?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Jiraiya," Shizune said, "What are _you_ doing here?" the young blond boy seemed invisible to the two woman in their shock at seeing their old friend.

"Well," Jiraiya laughed, "We've actually been looking for you guys—"

"JIRAIYA!" Came a loud, angry cry from the entrance.

The flap at the entrance lifted and a tall girl with long blond hair entered, glaring at Jiraiya, "You jerk!" she snapped, "Why did you just leave me there! I have half a mind to—"

She stopped, staring in shock at Tsunade. Her eyes widened, and a flush appeared across her face. She just stood there, in complete shock.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When I reached the restaurant, I was pissed. How DARE he leave a lady behind like that? Doesn't he have any respect for me? I suppose I shouldn't even _ask_ that question. "JIRAIYA!" I shouted as I lifted the flap at the entrance, "You jerk!" I shouted at him, "Why did you just leave me there! I have half a mind to—" the words halted in my throat as I saw whom he was previously speaking to.

There was no doubt in my mind that she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. She looked so young, and beautiful, and her body… there's no woman alive who could possibly compete with _those_. This…

Was Tsunade.

I just blinked.

Tsunade stared at me too, probably wondering why a girl is traveling with Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya," she said, "Who is this girl?"

"Oh," Jiraiya said, "Grace, come here." I walked over to him and he placed on of his large hands on my head, "This is…" he glanced around the pub and dragged me closer. I didn't want to get closer. It made me nervous. "This," he said, when they were closer together, "This is Grace Sarutobi, the adopted granddaughter of the Third Hokage."

"Adopted granddaughter?" Shizune asked in surprise, "Grace… is that a foreign name?"

"Yeah…" I said, smiling nervously.

Jiraiya sat down opposite of Shizune and Tsunade, and I sat down next to him, Naruto sitting on my other side. I was able to really get a look at Tsunade. She was… well, like a mentioned before, she was beautiful. She was so young looking, her eyes were brown, blonde hair, her boobs… well, they left every woman I know something to desire. She was… perfect. Well, her breasts may be a _little_ big, but other than that, she's perfect.

"I don't mean to be rude… Grace," Shizune said, "But why… were you…"

"Adopted by the Hokage?" Jiraiya finished. "Well, that's a good question." He turned towards me, "Why _were_ you adopted by the Third Hokage?"

Great… why is he putting me on the spot like this? I shuffled my feet and looked down, then up at him. "Don't you know the answer?" I asked, trying to show through my eyes how uncomfortable I was. The highest chance was that he was asking me because he _knew_ that I felt uncomfortable in the first place, but that doesn't really make sense to me. I mean, I know that Jiraiya is a stick in the mud, but he was never _cruel_ like this before. Unless this is what he sees as a joke, in which what I said earlier about how we think alike is entirely different.

"Well," Jiraiya said, "From what _I_ know, she was already acting like his granddaughter well before I met her, and eventually he just decided to adopt her legally."

"Yeah," Naruto said, "Grace was living at his house and was pretty much his granddaughter, so he just adopted her."

Stupid kid, that was exactly what Jiraiya said. I saw that there was sadness in Naruto's eyes when he said that though, and I was reminded how Naruto had almost been adopted by the Hokage as well, had the Hokage not died. I wonder if there's still a way… probably not. I doubt the village elders would ever allow something like that. I doubt that they liked the idea of me being adopted, if not for using it as an excuse to keep a close eye on me. Jeez… what a pain.

Silence fell over the table.

It was pretty awkward.

That aside…

"I met someone today that brought back memories." Tsunade said, cutting the silence like a knife.

"Orochimaru." I said, happy to say something of substance for once, "Right?"

She blinked, "How did _you_ know?" her eyes were calculating and harsh, but most of all, surprised that I would know that answer.

"You'll find," Jiraiya smirked, "That Grace knows a lot more than what's good for her."

"It's not my fault," I said, looking at my hands. Although, _technically_, it _is_ my fault, isn't it? "Anyway," I said, looking at Tsunade, "You're probably—"

"Did anything happen?" Jiraiya interrupted.

Tsunade's hands suddenly wrung together, and she narrowed her eyes. Shizune looked at her worriedly. I get what's going on, obviously Tsunade is worried about the decision she has to make… right? And there's something else, something that Orochimaru has over her, but I don't quite remember it. Tsunade sent Shizune a warning look, then said, "Nothing happened. It was just a little greeting."

I narrowed my own eyes. Why was she hiding it? I mean, should I mention anything. "Are you sure?" I said, finally, "I didn't think Orochimaru was the kind to just stop by for a 'chat'."

Tsunade gazed at me steadily, "And what would _you_ know of the matter?" she said.

I pursed my lips. I am really playing a dangerous game. On the one hand, I could get on Tsunade's bad side if I reveal too much, but on the other, I could lesson some danger if I reveal anything as well. "I…" I said, "I know." I said finally, "I know the bargain that you made. Or, more, the bargain that you might decide to make."

Tsunade's eyes widened.

"How did you…" Shizune said, her mouth falling slack, "Where you spying on us?!"

"No—I—" I began. Crap. Like I thought, it's dangerous to reveal too much. Damn my unthinking mouth! I shut just sew it up like in those horror movies! Oh crap… now I'm going to have nightmares from those mental images…

"Like I said," Jiraiya said, "Grace knows more than the average person. And not just about things that have already happened that she should have no clue about, she knows what will happen as well."

"Are you suggesting that she can read the future?" Tsunade asked, raising her eyebrows disbelievingly.

"I can only see one path," I said, "And as long as everything follows that path, I'll know what happens, but as soon as it goes down another path I won't know what happens."

"I see…" Tsunade said, still eyeing me with doubt.

"Anyway," Jiraiya said, obviously trying to break the tension and move the subject along before I was put in an even more difficult position, "There's a lot to discuss. Eventually, Grace needs some medical care, she was caught in a nasty genjutsu that only you can heal—"

"I can't," Tsunade said, "I'm not a medical ninja anymore."

"That doesn't matter," Jiraiya said, "There will be no blood involved, you just need to release the remnants of the genjutsu from her. The doctors at the hospital weren't able to help her because it was too complicated."

She didn't say anything. "I'll think about it." She said, she turned to Jiraiya, "So why'd you come to see me?"

"To tell you the truth," Jiraiya said, "We've come to tell you that the Village Hidden in Leaves has issued a request for you to become the Fifth Hokage."

"So the Third is really…" Shizune said quietly.

"I know," Tsunade told Jiraiya, sharply, "Orochimaru already told me."

"Orochimaru?!" Naruto shouted, standing up on his seat and pointing accusingly at Tsunade, "He's the guy who KILLED the old man! What right does he have telling _you_?" he shouted, "What the hell are you doing with that bastard!??"

"Orochimaru was one of us, once upon a time," Jiraiya explained to Naruto, "Don't you remember anything?"

"But if that's true," Naruto said, turning to Jiraiya, still pointing at Tsunade and standing on his chair, "Then why'd he…"

"Jiraiya," Tsunade cut off, glancing at Naruto, then turning her eyes to Jiraiya, "Who the hell is this kid?"

Jiraiya smirked, "This kid is… Naruto Uzumaki."

Tsunade's eyes widened and snapped back to Naruto, whom I was convincing to sit back down in his seat. I assume she recognizes the name. Why shouldn't she? He's the nine-tailed fox, after all.

"Hey," Naruto interjected, "I've been wondering… why does _she_ get to be the Fifth Hokage?" he crossed his arms and glared jealously at her from across the table. She met his glare with raised eyebrows, smirking at his obvious, childlike jealously.

"Shut up," Jiraiya interrupted. "Well?" he said, his eyes steadily watching Tsunade, "What's your answer?"

What should I do? I felt like I should say something, and yet… I wasn't sure what _to_ say. What would I say in a situation like this? I'm so confused. There are so many things going through my head right now, I just feel…

"Well?" Jiraiya repeated. "Your answer?"

There was silence as Tsunade stared at her food.

"Impossible." Tsunade said, finally. "I decline."

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_To be continued…_

Wow. What an anti-climatic ending…

Anyway, again I apologize for not uploading this. You just sort of lose track of time sometimes…

I'll be sure to upload the next chapter faster, because now that the first week of school is over I'll have a better sense of time.

fUnKyToEs


	52. The Fifth Hokage: Part XIV

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyTOES

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part XIV (I don't know about you but it seems sort of sad that we're already 14 chapters into this arc and its just getting to the stuff that the arc is actually about...)

WORDS: 4, 311 (the reason this chapter is so ridiculously short is because I wanted to post it and didn't have time to add some extra stuff... although it ends perfectly anyway. Actually, it _did_ go on but the computer I'm using now froze and about a thousand words got erased (that's why you save as you go along...) Also, forgive mispellings and grammer flaws (the bane of my existence)

DISCLAIMER: I'm too tired to write something… you improvise my thoughts…

BEFOREWORD: I just bought a new computer but my dealer was still downloading software and programming it so I don't have it yet, and I've been putting off finishing this chapter because I wanted to wait till my computer came, because I can't really use the one I'm using right now… yeah… but I felt bad because it was like "by the time I actually get the computer it will be a month since I uploaded last, and that's waaaaaaaaaaaay too rude. So I'm uploading it now. Enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Silence fell and Naruto and I stared opened mouth at her blunt answer.

Even Jiraiya looked a little taken aback by it, but he shouldn't be surprised. Heck, _I_ shouldn't be surprised. It wasn't the fact that she rejected the proposition that had shocked me, although it might have shocked Naruto, but it was the _way_ she rejected it that made me bristle. She practically spat it, as if it was a curse to become the Hokage. Is that really what she thinks of her village? I don't care if she no longer a 'real' ninja of Konoha, that doesn't matter! She should still have some dignity in declining that proposition! What does she think this is? Just some random minimal gambling game? Life's not a game, woman!

"You know," Jiraiya said, recovering quickly and chuckling, "I distinctly remember hearing that "I decline" when I asked you out."

Naruto and my heads whipped to him, staring at him wide eyes. I forgot about that… if I ever remembered it.

"WHAT?!" Naruto gasped, his jaw dropping, "I thought you said we were here on a mission!? What's going on?!" He stood up again, and even though I tugged on his jacket and tried to pull him down, I was once again, for the infinite time, that he was a ninja and in fact much stronger than I was. I glared at Tsunade and slammed in hands on the table, "I don't care if you want her to be the Hokage!" he shouted, "I just want her to come back and heal Sasuke and Grace and Kakashi-sensei! But!" he paused and took a deep breath, "Even though you _did_ ask her to become Hokage… I _cannot_ forgive someone who just all of sudden declines that honor! How dare—"

"Sit down!" I hissed, finally succeeding in pulling him back down, at the risk of his pants almost sliding off. "Just sit, ok?" I whispered harshly in his ear. "You're not helping anything!"

Tsunade looked pissed, staring hard at the table. Shizune turned worriedly to look at her. What's going on in Tsunade's mind?

"Don't worry so much," Jiraiya told Naruto, "This person right here, Tsunade, is the only person who can become the Fifth Hokage. She was the one who brought us victory in battle, and no one has been able to acquire her techniques. Also, Tsunade is the granddaughter of the First Hokage. So, she is the most appropriate person for this position."

"But—"

"I don't think you quite understand," Jiraiya said, "If she becomes the Hokage… she would have to go back to the village… and then she could check up on Sasuke and Kakashi."

Naruto frowned, but this new amount of information silenced him. He already knew that this woman was supposed to be the Hokage, but I suppose seeing her in person just makes him feel that much farther away from his goal, to become the Hokage himself. Plus, the way that she just declined the proposition made _me_ feel defensive, and I don't even want to become the Hokage!

"This decision," Jiraiya continued, "Was made by the top members of the Leaf Village. You have absolutely no say in this matter."

Tsunade smirked, "Jiraiya," She said, "This kid seems worse than your previous apprentice. In terms of looks, speech and intelligence."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Naruto shouted, standing up again.

"Stop it!" I yelled, "Just sit already!" I grabbed his jacket again and pulled, trying for the uncountable time to keep him in his seat. What's with this kid?

"Well," Jiraiya laughed, "It's tough for anyone to be compared to the Fourth Hokage."

At the mention of his ultimate idol, Naruto sat down and waited intently for the monologue that Jiraiya would soon tell. Even I sat, waiting for what I barely knew about: the most memorable ninja in the Fire Nation.

"He really had the talent… to become a top-rated ninja," Jiraiya continued, "He was smart, reliable and handsome like me, too!" he joked.

"But," Tsunade cut in, "Even that great man died quickly. He _gave up_ his life for his village."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, and Naruto bristled.

I only stared in shock at the venom that Tsunade had in her voice.

"Life is different than money," Tsunade continued, "It can't be gambled that easily. Whoever puts it at risk so easily is a fool."

I heard Naruto grind his teeth.

"My grandfather," she said, "And the Second Hokage both focused too much on bringing peace to our home, more than anything else. But as a result, the just died in the middle of their dreams, like losers…"

I felt my fists clench under the table. How can she say that? What _right_ does she have to say that about the Hokage's? Giving you life for what you believe in is what being Hokage means! It's what being human means.

"You've changed a lot Tsunade," Jiraiya said, "I don't know what you've been thinking all this time, but you've just said all that's on your mind."

"Well," Tsunade said, "I _am_ in my fifties."

She smirked, and rested her chin on her hand, which was propped up on its elbow. "It's the same, though, for Sarutobi-sensei. No wonder he died… because he was too old and foolish to live his dreams."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed in anger and Naruto began shaking. Tsunade must be really drunk in order to say something so blasphemous as that. I swear, if she says one more thing _I'm_ going to blow a fuse.

"Being Hokage is _shit_." Tsunade said, "No one but a _fool_ would do it!"

Naruto jumped over the table, ready to attack her, but Jiraiya caught him by his jacket and tossed him back.

"AARG!" Naruto yelled, "What the hell are you doing?!" he shrieked at Jiraiya, "Let me go!!!"

"Don't you realize we're at a bar?" Jiraiya snapped as people started to turn their heads towards the commotion.

"I can't forgive ANYONE who disrespects the Third or Fourth Hokage!" he shouted, "I don't care if she even IS a woman!! I'm going to kick her ass!"

Tsunade smirked and prepared to stand up. "Wait!" I said, pulling Naruto down and standing up instead. "Naruto, butt out," I snapped, "And keep your mouth shut, you need to learn to control yourself."

"But—" Naruto began, furious.

"But _nothing_," I said, "This woman is a ninja, a ninja who outranks you and therefore you cannot confront this woman in the immature and disrespectful way that you have."

Naruto growled but held his tongue.

"However…" I said, turning to face Tsunade. "I on the other hand, am _not _a ninja, therefore, your rank means nothing to me, and since I too am a granddaughter of a Hokage, your political standing within the village is equal to mine. Thus," I said, narrowing my eyes coldly, "I don't have any regrets or hesitation for what I'm about to say."

She narrowed her own eyes, and said, dauntingly, "Just say what you're going to say already."

"How _dare_ you say that about the Hokage's!" I shouted, "They lived their _lives_ to protect the people of their village! They didn't die because of their _village_ but because they wanted to protect the lives and people within it! That is more than enough of a cause to die! They fought and died for their honor and the honor of their people! How dare you shit on the dreams of brother and boyfriend! Image their disappointment in you if they heard you say that about what they lived for! Have you no respect for their memory!?"

She stood up, slamming her hands on the table, breaking it, "You have a lot of nerve saying that to me, brat," she hissed. "I don't care if you _are_ the granddaughter of the Third Hokage, you don't have the right to say that!"

"I do if you're going to tarnish their memory," I hissed, not backing down even though every fiber in my body told me to do so. "I don't care what you're personal beliefs are, before you go and shit on people's dreams, you should think about what they would think of the matter! Don't you think that Dan and your brother would rather you live on their dreams instead of always lingering in the past?"

She narrowed her eyes and stared at me steadily.

"You seem to have some very opinionated views, there," she said, dead calm, "Why don't _you_ just become Hokage?"

I didn't respond. How _do_ you respond to that without sounding stupid? "I'm not a ninja," I said, quietly, "Nor, I think, will I ever be one. But I swear," I said, pointing at her, "That one day I'll become a better leader and woman than you could ever be! And if I ever become a ninja I also swear that I'll become a better ninja than you ever could be! Because I care about the people in my village! Protecting them with my life is my dream!"

She stared at me with wide eyes. "It's your dream, huh?" she said, slowly.

"That's right," I said, crossing my arms and trying to forget that I just sold my life away.

"Me too!" Naruto said, standing up, "Becoming Hokage is also _my _dream!"

Damn it, I thought, now the idiots making it sound like I want to be Hokage…

Tsunade's eyes widened even farther, and then her eyes fell. "I see," she said, quietly, "It appears that the two of you kids certainly are ambitious for your futures."

"That's right," Naruto said, "In fact, I'm so ambitious that I won't allow you to tarnish the Hokage name any longer! I challenge you to a battle!"

I turned and stared at him, "Naruto…"

She turned to look at him, "Oh?" she said, "What makes you think you could possibly beat me, eh?"

"I have a killer technique!" Naruto smirked, "I could beat you in five seconds you fat old hag!"

Her eyebrows furrowed, "I could beat you with a finger," she said, "I'll teach you what it means to be a great ninja—and how far you have till you could possibly be a Hokage."

"It's on!" Naruto shouted.

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"This is ridiculous," I said, looking at one to the other. Jiraiya merely shrugged.

Naruto and Tsunade stood on a road, facing each other, about five to six meters away from each other. They looked like they belonged in an old cowboy film.

"I'm going to kick your ass!" Naruto shouted.

"And like I said," Tsunade smirked, "I'll beat you with a finger."

"That sounds perverted," I muttered to Jiraiya, who smirked in return. I have a feeling he's getting a kick out of this. I can't say that I am, though. I'm worried sick, actually. What if Naruto dies? Then I'll have to avenge him and become like Sasuke and become all emo and dye my hair black and listen to emo music... Wait... did I justa dmi that Sasuke is emo? Wait... he _is_ emo... or... I don't even remember what brought up this topic...

Naruto let out a yell and charged her. I winced as she brought her finger up and whipped his head protector fright off his head. The momentum from this impact snapped his neck back, and by the time his head went down to face her again, it was too late. She flicked her finger lightly on his forehead.

I gasped as Naruto flew at least seven meters away and hit the ground hard, causing a dust storm.

Such… incredible strength!

Naruto growled as he pushed himself up, staring in disbelief at her, probably pondering, just like I am, about her insane strength. He stood up, breathing heavily.

"What about that killer technique?" she smirked tauntingly, "I thought you wanted to be Hokage?"

He growled, and started to move his right hand over his left, swarming the air and collecting the chakra. The Rasengan started to form. My eyes lit up. I actually haven't seen this part, I was sleeping through it.

Tsunade's eyes widened in shock. "That technique..." She said, trailing off.

Naruto charged, "Take this!" he shouted. He sped towards her with more speed and power than he did before.

For a moment, I didn't think that she'd be able to dodge it. It wasn't for a few milliseconds later that I realized that she _wouldn't_ be able to dodge it, not without obtaining at least _some_ damage. She plunged her finger into the ground, and I shrieked in surprise and I shrieked in surprise as the ground shook. A crater appeared where her finger had hit the ground, breaking up the ground like an earthquake. I fell backwards from the unsteady movement under my feet, and would have fallen onto the ground if Jiraiya didn't catch me.

The Rasengan crashed into the ground as Naruto tripped on the newly created mouth in the earth, the Rasengan missing Tsunade by half a foot.

"Shit! Shit!" Naruto grumbled as he fought to break free of the crater.

I broke free of Jiraiya's tight grasp and hurried over to where Naruto was laying, along with Shizune, and said, "Naruto, are you alright?"

Shizune helped me grab him and lift him from the crater.

"Jiraiya!" Tsunade shouted, turning to face him, "Was it you? Who's teaching him that jutsu?"

"Well," Jiraiya laughed, nervously, "I _am_ his teacher… in principle."

"The only people that can use that jutsu are you and the Fourth Hokage." She said, "Teaching him something that he cannot do, and believing that you are his master, it's better if he doesn't think that way… so silly kids like those two won't joke about foolish dreams like 'becoming Hokage'."

"It's not a dream!" he shouted, "You idiot! Idiot!"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him.

"All I need is three days!" he said, "I can master that technique! Just you watch!"

"Heh," Tsunade smirked, "Those are some bold words, brat, a man's word should never be taken back."

"Just you watch," Naruto said, smirking right back at her, "I _never_ take my by words. That's _my_ ninja way!"

Her eye twitched. "Is that so…?" she asked. She turned to face me, and I blinked in surprise. "What about you?" She said, "You mentioned earlier that you want to become a better woman and leader than I could ever be, right?"

"Uh…" I said, wildly thinking about how to get myself out of the situation I just put myself in.

"Are you implying," Tsunade smirked, "That you're going to go back on _your words_? I thought you wanted to live to protect your people, _princess_?"

I gritted my teeth, and stood up to face her. I'm taller than she is anyway. That's right, I have gravity rights! "I don't take back my words either," I said.

She smirked, "Fine," she said, "The brat has to master Rasengan and you have to master one Genin level technique within one week," she said, "And whoever accomplishes that task first, I will acknowledge that you could be the Hokage, or be better than me, and, I'll give the first one done this necklace," she said, lifting the necklace off her bosom.

"But Lady Tsunade!" Shizune said, "That's you're precious…"

"I don't want that kind of ugly necklace…" Naruto said, looking disgusted.

"Don't say that," Jiraiya said, "That is a very unique and precious ore that belonged to the First Hokage… if you sold it, you could buy three mountains."

"Well…" Naruto said, "Alright then."

Tsunade smirked, "But if you can't master that technique in a week, then you lose… all your money will belong to me."

Naruto and I blinked. In her hand was Naruto's froggy purse!

"Aww!" Naruto cried, distraught, "My cute froggy!"

"And what about you?" she asked, turning to me. "What will you have to gamble if you don't win?"

I hesitated. What _would_ I give? Heck, what _could_ I give? What do I have to offer? "I'll offer…" I said, "I'll offer…"

"How about," Jiraiya said, cutting in, "How about you offer to never speak to someone ever again…. Like say… Sasuke?"

I blinked and stared at him, horrified. "Wha…"

"What the hell, old man?" Naruto yelled, "What kind of bet is that!?"

"Who the hell is this Sasuke that you guys keep talking about?" Tsunade said.

"He's the last of the Uchiha," Jiraiya explained, "Grace and Sasuke have a very… close relationship."

"Ahh…that explains it. I was wondering why that name was so familiar…" she said, turning to me in understanding. "So, he's your boyfriend, huh?"

I blushed, "He's not my boyfriend!" I mumbled, sending Jiraiya a glare. "We're just friends."

She stared at my oddly, then said, "Well, how about it? If you can't master a technique within a week, you have to swear to never speak to this Sasuke again."

I bit my lip. Should I say yes? Tsunade seemed intent on having this be my wager. "I won't have it any other way," Tsunade said, "If you don't want to go back on your word, then you'll have to accept this."

I tasted blood. "Fine," I said, "I'll accept. If I can't learn the jutsu in a week… I'll never speak to Sasuke again."

"Grace…" Naruto began.

"Good," Tsunade said, "Maybe this will help you realize… let's just say work hard for that boy."

What did she mean by that?

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"So what did you want to talk about?" Tsunade asked, sighing. "Is it impossible for a woman to drink in peace?"

It was just the two of them, Shizune, Naruto, and Grace had left to find a hotel to stay in for the night.

"Sorry for the delay," The bartender apologized as he placed to drinks in front of them.

Jiraiya turned and gazed at Tsunade's young and rather ample body and commented, with a slight blush on his face, "You've become even more beautiful."

Tsunade grinned, "You haven't changed at all, you big pervert. It's only you that I don't date."

"Not that I'm interested," Jiraiya shrugged. "After all, you're still a fifty year old woman…"

"What?!" she growled, menacingly.

"Nothing, nothing," Jiraiya laughed.

There was silence for a moment while the two of them gazed at their glasses. "That girl," Tsunade said, "And that boy…"

"Are you worried about them?" Jiraiya asked.

"No…" she said.

"You know," Jiraiya said, "Speaking _to_ children, you acted pretty childish back there."

"How so?" Tsunade asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Even if he trains extensively, there's no way he can master it in a week… and asking Grace to master a technique in a week is like… well, asking her to suddenly realize that she's in love with Sasuke. It ain't going to happen. Not for a while, anyway."

Tsunade took a long swig out of her glass, gazing at Jiraiya out of the corner of her eye. "That kid, Sasuke." She said, "He _is_ the last of the Uchiha, right?"

"That's right."

"Itachi's little brother."

Jiraiya didn't say anything, then, "That's right."

"I see…" she said, gazing up at the wall ahead of them. "That explains a bit."

"What?" Jiraiya asked.

She changed the subject, "So tell me," she said, grinning, "You mentioned earlier that 'Grace realizing she's in love with Sasuke' will never happen. Are you implying that she's actually in love with Sasuke?"

"The only one who doesn't know is Grace herself," Jiraiya chuckled, "The dumb nitwit. Poor Sasuke, could get any girl in the village and the one girl he picks doesn't even realize that he likes her, let along that she likes him."

"That must be frustrating," Tsunade giggled, "It's like a plot out of a badly thought out love story."

"Hey," Jiraiya whimpered, "Don't insult me, ok? I'll have you know people pay _money_ for my stories."

"You haven't written about those two, have you?" Tsunade said sharply, narrowing her eyes.

Jiraiya grinned, "It's in the making, baby."

"You pervert." She muttered, "If I have my way that book will never be written."

They lapsed into silence yet again, and this time it was Jiraiya who broke it. "You knew, already, didn't you?" he said, "That those two had feelings for each other."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "How could I know?" She said, "That's just ridiculous."

"But you said, didn't you, "Fight for that boy". You wouldn't have said that if you didn't at least have a clue."

She sighed and laid her cup down on the counter. "I knew that look on her face, even if, as you said, she didn't know it herself. That look of a girl when she has thoughts on a boy…"

The silence grew again, and this time, the cavern seemed even larger and more difficult to cross than before. She rubbed the rim of her cup with her fingers, and then said, "I'll take a look at her brain," she said. "I'll try to clear up any of the genjutsu residue that might still be left. I can't 'fix' her, as you mentioned, but… I can heal her of the genjutsu. Whatever she envisioned or experienced within the genjutsu will always be there, unless she forgets with time."

"I'm just asking for what you can do," Jiraiya said. "After all, you can do more for her than any of the medical ninja back home can."

"Home…" Tsunade muttered. "That girl sure is twisted, isn't she?"

"What makes you say that?" Jiraiya said, laughing.

"I don't remember her, nor remember hearing about her," Tsunade began, "So I know she's not from the village, at least, she's too old to have been born in the village. She must have be new, since I haven't heard anything at all about her. And for her to be adopted by the old man…" she frowned, "But what I don't understand is why someone with her capabilities would be… you know, so hidden. Or, how is it possible that after all these years she hasn't been found out until now? If she had I certainly would have heard of it by now."

"You make an excellent point," Jiraiya shrugged, "It's my suspicion that the fact she hasn't been found out before now is because there _wasn't_ a before now for Grace."

"What are you implying?" Tsunade said, troubled.

"It's just a hypothesis," Jiraiya said, "But I think that Grace is… well, out of this world and I mean that in more ways than one."

Tsunade gazed at him with steady eyes. "I don't get what you're saying. That's impossible."

"I know," Jiraiya said, "But so is what she knows, the _things_ she knows. It's impossible for someone to know the future, and yet she _does_. If _that's_ possible, then who knows what else is possible."

"I wonder…" Tsunade trailed off.

"Still," Jiraiya said, leaning back in his seat, "She has a long way to go, that girl. To think she agreed to learning a jutsu, genin level or not, within a week… or rather, the fact that you challenged her to that, well, that _was _pretty childish, don't you think? And there's no way in hell Naruto will be able to master the Rasengan within a week."

"Hell," Tsunade said, "I don't really give a shit."

"Why are you so reckless?" Jiraiya asked, looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm not reckless," She said, quietly.

"You're…" Jiraiya said, a sly smile on his face, "Going to meet up with Orochimaru, aren't you? Just as Grace hinted?"

"How…?" Tsunade said, her eyes widening with shock.

"I could tell from Shizune's facial expressions, and of course, from the hints Grace tactlessly left everywhere. Besides, it's not hard to put two and two together. I don't know what kind of deal he offered you, but… whatever it is, be careful about making a hasty decision."

Tsunade didn't say anything.

"There's one thing I want to make clear," Jiraiya said. "The past Hokages protected those who lived in the Leaf Village, and reigned in troubled times and yet still allowed the village to prosper, they _bet_ there're lives on that dream of peace and happiness. You too should understand those two's feelings. If… you ever do anything to betray the Leaf…." He turned to her, murder in his eyes, "I'll kill you."

Her eyes narrowed, "It has nothing to do with me…" she muttered.

"Only a murder would say that knowing that the two closest people to them are dead. You're not like that, are you?" he said, slowly. "I know that you still care about the Village, otherwise you wouldn't have—"

"Stop lecturing me!" she shouted angrily.

They lapsed into silence, and she said, sadly, "Why did you bring those two along?" She said. _They both have such high dreams in the sky, _she thought_, just like those two…_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I ONLY HAVE ONE WEEK!" Naruto shouted out of the window at the moon. "I have to master that 'something-ran' jutsu before then!"

"Rasengan, you dope," I muttered as I dropped my pack on the floor and set to work getting a futan mattress on the floor, "Don't tell me you've forgotten already you idiot!"

"What? Oh yeah," he said, "That's what it's called, isn't it?"

"You're an idiot," I muttered. Man, this sucks. I have to learn an actual JUTSU before the week's out. I mean, I _sort_ of know the transformation jutsu, no wait, the clone jutsu, but other than that I'm hopeless. And I can't even really do that all that well. Thankfully I still have Jiraiya to train me. It's all Naruto's fault. "It's all your fault," I repeated.

He turned to me, confused, "What is my fault?"

"It's _always_ you're fault," I said, glaring, "You and you're big mouth!"

"What—what are you talking about?" He said, worriedly stepping away from me.

"I'm…" I said, taking a menacing step closer to him, "I'M GOING TO TICKLE YOU!"

"What—no!" he cried out as I pounced on him, forcing him to the floor and tickling him mercilessly.

Naruto's torture was interrupted however, by a knock on the door. "Excuse me," someone said as the door slid open, and Shizune's face became visible, "But if I could have a moment…"

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_To be continued…_

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

fUnKyToEs


	53. The Fifth Hokage: Part XV

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part XV

WORDS: 6,066 words

DISCLAIMER: I. Do. Not. Own… *robot mode*

BEFOREWORD: I'M FINALLY DONE!!!! The college application is OVER! BOOYAH!!! I've been working very hard the past month to finish my college application process so I won't have to worry about it (I was doing early admission) and I got into the college but I still had to send my portfolio (art major) and this past week I SENT IT! I had to finish it and package it and all that stuff and then send it and anyone who has gone through the college application process and especially an art major application process will know how emotionally and physically straining it is… not to mention stressful, hence why it has taken so much time to get this chapter out (emotional strain as well as lack of time since every moment went towards my portfolio) but now that it's over and I've had a few days to rest I'm back on track! So I hope you'll forgive the lateness of this chapter!  (Oh! And because I was in a rush to get this chapter out, there may be a few—cough—a lot—cough—of grammatical and spelling errors, so please ignore those! I'm working on editing the earlier chapters of Truthspeaker and reposting them and eventually I'll get to the later ones. I hope to have Truthspeaker edited by the time the sequel comes out)

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"What do you want?" Naruto asked as Shizune led him and I out of the room. I yawned, too tired to argue with his rudeness.

"I'm sorry," Shizune apologized. "I know that you two have had a long day—a long week, but… there's something I need to say." She looked down at her feet and shuffled a step backwards, putting some distance between her and us. "Lady Tsunade…"

"Is an old bat," Naruto finished, "Yeah, yeah, we _know_."

"No!" Shizune cried out, "She's not!" she bit her lip, "I'm sorry," She apologized again, "I didn't mean to speak out like that… it's just… Lady Tsunade didn't used to be like this, she was a strong woman who cared deeply for her village."

"I find that hard to believe." Naruto said.

"Naruto," I said, "Go back to the room. I'll tell you later."

He gave me a quizzical look, as if to disagree, but then obediently turned around and walked into the room. I closed the door behind him, turning around to face Shizune again. "Please don't misunderstand Naruto," I said, "For the same reasons that you don't want us to misunderstand Lady Tsunade."

"I see…" Shizune said, "Yes, I know, I know that… Lady Tsunade must come off as…"

"A bitch," I finished, "And I know that partly she is one, but I also know the other part of the story. You forget," I hesitated, searching her face for assurance before continuing, "That I know more than what's good for me, and that includes Tsunade. I know that you probably don't believe me, hell, _I_ wouldn't believe me, but still. It's important that you do."

"And what is it exactly that I'm supposed to know?" Shizune snapped, "You act like you know Lady Tsunade but you don't! You don't know anything about her!"

"But I _do_," I insisted, "I know a lot more than you think."

"But you've never _met_ her," Shizune said, "How can you say that you know her if you've never met her. You may know _about_ her but you've never met her before. You've never talked to her, listened to her, laughed with her. How can you say you know a person when you only know their exterior?"

She had a point, I'll hand that to her. I must say, I was quite taken aback by her statement. How can I prove that, to some extent, that I know what's going on inside of Tsunade's head? I suppose I can't, and, to protect the privacy of Tsunade, I shouldn't prove it, should I? "I'm sorry," I apologized, meaning it, "I shouldn't have said what I said. You're right, I don't know Tsunade. I'll try to understand her more, and give her another chance. And I'll talk to Naruto about doing the same."

Shizune breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew I'd like you," She said, "I know that you're different than most people, I saw it in your eyes, and who knows, maybe what you say is true, but…"

"I know," I said. "I understand what you're talking about."

Shizune changed tactics. "I think you should know—that necklace…"

"I know about what happens to whomever has the necklace," I said, "And I'll have to tell you know that if its Naruto, he won't die—"

"How do you know?" Shizune asked.

"Just trust me," I said, smiling, "And if it's _me_, on the half chance I win, the wins the necklace, well, I doubt I'll die."

Again, Shizune questioned this.

I shrugged, "Main characters don't die—often."

She blinked at me, "Main characters?"

I frowned, "I suppose that's not the right way of putting it, huh… since, to everyone, _they_ are the main character of their own story… so I suppose saying it like that doesn't make sense… but… let's just say that the fact that I'm in _this_ land proves the fact that I won't die."

She blinked again, thoroughly confused.

"Don't stress it," I said, "You'll just get confused." Even though she was already confused about everything I just said. "Do you need anything else?"

"No," She shook her head, "I'm glad that you understand." She paused, "Tell me, this… Sasuke guy…"

I laughed, "Oh, he's just a friend back home."

"Really?" She asked, somewhat skeptical, "The way that Jiraiya and Naruto were implying it, it seemed like you two were…"

"Were what?" I asked.

"You know…" A small blush appeared on her cheek, "You know… _together_…"

My face flushed crimson. "Oh!" I said, "Is that how it appeared? Well—no!" I said in a rush, "Don't worry, we're not together—that would be gross! He's only fourteen and I'm sixteen! Sixteen and almost a half! We're not together! We're just… friends! That's right! Besides," I said, nodding my head in reassurance, "He's totally not interested in me. He doesn't like girls like me, you see," I said, "He likes girls with longer hair, I think."

She blinked and gazed at me with a dazed expression. "But your hair…"

I glanced over my shoulder. "Oh!" I said, blushing again, "This… this is just a wig! My real hair—my real hair _is_ blonde but it's dyed purple although the roots are blonde again—oh, I'm getting flustered… this is just a wig that I was forced to wear and I can't take it off because it was fused to my head with chakra."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "That must be new, I've never heard of that! That would be exceedingly useful!"

"I know!" I said, "I have a feeling that it's not very well known, otherwise you'd see a lot of kunoichi running around with different hair styles every day!"

"You're right!" Shizune laughed, "That would be a problem, wouldn't it!?"

We laughed and said goodnight.

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"Oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God—"

"What are you doing?" Someone said behind me.

I shrieked and turned around, only to see that it was Shizune. "Oh," I said, breathing a sigh of relief, "It's just you."

"Are those your pajamas?" Shizune asked, "It's cute—Pink and purple looks good on you."

"Oh," I said, flushing, "I sort of bought these on a whim."

"Oh," Shizune laughed, "Well, good choice."

"Thanks!" I said, grinning.

"So what are you muttering about?" she asked.

"Oh," I said, scratching my head, "It started back when we said goodnight about an hour ago…"

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_She smiled and I smiled back. I liked this woman. I'm not sure about Tsunade… I mean, I have different contradicting views of her, the views that I created prior to arriving here and the views I've acquired after meeting her, but this woman was different. She was sweet, and, like Tenten, I know we'll be friends._

_I hope, at least._

_We said goodnight and I walked into the room, closing the door behind me, to find Naruto sitting on the futon watching TV. "Naruto," I said, walking over to him, "Did you find another futon?"_

_He shook his head, not moving his eyes from the TV screen. "No." he said, "But this one is big so it'll work."_

_I glanced down at it, and saw that he was right. "Alright," I said, "I'm going to change now." I shook my head in the bathroom's direction, "I'll be in there if you need me, ok?"_

_He nodded, still not turning his head._

_I shook my head in amusement. He's just like a little kid. Actually, he's just like a teenage boy…_

_I locked the bathroom door, then remembered hearing the hotel clerk say something about baths. "Naruto!" I shouted, "Let's go to the baths!"_

"_The baths?" he echoed, "Sure."_

_I got up and sprinted, as best I could over to him and forcefully dragged him up. "Come on!" I said, pulling him out the door._

"_Why are you so excited?" He asked._

"_I love baths!" I said, "This will be so much fun!"_

_Naruto grinned, "Yeah!"_

After reaching the changing rooms…

"_I wished they clarified 'one bath'," I muttered, staring at the door of the changing room._

"_It's not that uncommon," Naruto said, "I mean, places have one bath places things all the time! Jiraiya will be psyched."_

"_Oh God…" I muttered. "Make sure I get out before he arrives."_

"_Wha—you're going in?" Naruto asked, surprised, turning towards me._

"_Why not?" I asked, "I mean, if there are guys in there, I'll just avert my eyes."_

"_But…" he blushed slightly, "But I was intending to go in…" he mumbled._

_I sighed and shrugged, "We've both seen each other pretty much naked, so what's the big deal? Besides, the water is really hot and therefore murky, so we have nothing to be worried about."_

"_Ok," Naruto said. _

_We walked in and thankfully there was no one there. "Don't look," I said, turning around and grabbing a towel, then started undressing._

"_Don't look either," Naruto said, turning around so our backs were facing each other. I wrapped the towel around myself._

"_Hey," I called, "Are you done yet?"_

"_Yup." He said._

_I turned around and noticed that he had his towel wrapped around his waist. "I bet Hinata would kill to be in my place." I said._

"_What was that?" Naruto asked as he reached for the door._

"_Nothing," I said, walking up to him, "When we get out there help me get in the water, ok?"_

"_Why?" he asked as the hot air blasted us. We walked towards a section of the baths that was empty. He stretched and poked a toe in the water, testing it. "Oooh…" he laughed, "It's really nice."_

"_I need to take my boot off," I explained, "And I don't want to slip."_

"_Riiiight." Naruto said, then jumped into the water._

"_Naruto!" I gasped as the splash soaked me. "You're supposed to take off your towel before you go in the water!" I sat down and worked on undoing my boot._

"_You pervert," Naruto giggled, slipping off his towel and placing it on the ledge, "I didn't want you to see."_

"_Oh," I blushed, "I forgot about that."_

_Naruto gave me a weird look. "Do you need help now?" he asked._

"_Yeah," I said, scooting over to the edge and keeping my legs crossed._

"_I tell you," Naruto shook his head, "Sasuke would kill to be here right now."_

_I blushed again, "like I would ever go to the baths with Sasuke!" I said, "Not like this anyway, I mean, that's just weird!" I reached out and he grabbed my waist, lifting me up and then setting me down in the water. "Wow," I said, "Impressive!"_

"_Well," he sniffed, "I am a ninja." He looked at the water submerged half his face in the water. "Grace…" he blew bubbles in the water."_

"_What is it?"I asked as I removed my towel and placed it next to his, making sure to keep the water's surface at my neck._

"_Why did you just say it would be weird to be here with Sasuke but not with me?"_

"_Oh." I said, pausing. I didn't expect him to ask that. "Well, you're… you know, my little brother."_

_He looked at me with a small smile, "Do you mean that?"_

_I glanced at him softly, and realized how important my response was. "Of course," I said, smiling, "You're the most special to me."_

_He smiled widely and leaped over to me, giving a big hug. "Thanks," he said._

"_Thank you," I said. I looked up and saw a couple farther down giving us strange looks. "Crap…" I muttered, and Naruto and pushed away from each other._

_I'm sure my face was as red as his. "I…" I started._

"_That…." He began._

"_Let's just pretend that didn't happen," I laughed uneasily._

"_Yeah," Naruto laughed awkwardly, "I'd like to keep my life!"_

"_OH NO," someone said behind me, "Trust me, this is perfect material!"_

"_JIRAIYA!" I shrieked, covering my chest and turning around to face him, before turning away from him so my back was facing him, "What the HELL are you doing here?"_

"_What are you talking about?" Jiraiya said, disappointed, standing up straight, "I came here to have a nice time—great job picking a restaurant with a unisex bath!" he gave us the thumbs up, "I approve!"_

"_Of course you do, PERVERT!" I yelled, squeezing me arms across my chest, "And why are you only in a towel—and what's with that creepy little book of yours!?"_

"_Whaaaat?!" Jiraiya complained, "I was just getting a little research in!"_

"_Don't you dare put that hug in that little book…" I growled, "Or. I. Will. Kill. You."_

"_Yeah!" Naruto said, "I value my life!"_

"_I'm not going to kill you— but," I said, turning my attention to Jiraiya, "But that hug in that little book…" I growled, "Or. I. Will. Kill. You."_

"_Yeah!" Naruto repeated, "I value my life!" _

"_I'm not going to kill you, Naruto," I said again._

"_I'm not talking about you killing me," he muttered. _

_I frowned, "Who…? Never mind." I said, "It's about time that you throw away that dirty little book, Jiraiya," I said, "You need to stop being so perverted all the time!"_

"_That's like saying an orange should become an apple," Jiraiya grinned, "Or do I spy a little romance blossoming here?"_

_I blushed, "You dumbass!" I barked, "How dare you?"_

"_Yeah!" Naruto echoed, "If you have—you know, that person being the person in that book for Grace why put this thing in there!?"_

"_Because," Jiraiya winked, "It makes plot twists. Besides, rivalry is always good in novels."_

"_I don't even know what you're talking about." I said, "Jiraiya, hand me the towel, I'm going back to the hotel room."_

_He leaned over and picked up the towels, then lifted them far above his head, "Come and get 'em," he winked._

_I growled deep in my throat. What a stinking… perverted… bastardly… son of a… "Fine!" I said, "Be that way!" I swam over to the ledge and lifted myself out of the water, limping over to my boot, grabbing it, grabbing one of the extra towels on the bench, and wrapping myself in it, all the while giving Naruto and Jiraiya… perfect view. "Happy now?" I asked, glaring, when neither spoke, I turned around and limped to the changing rooms._

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"That's what happened…" I sighed.

Shizune just stared at me.

"And…" I continued, "Yeah…"

Shizune just stared. Then, suddenly, she burst out laughing. "I can't…" she gasped, "I can't believe you did that! That's just amazing!"

I blinked at her, "What are you talking about?" I exclaimed, "I just totally flashed Naruto and Jiraiya! I'll never live this down! Do you have _any_ idea how many people have seen me naked? Or partially naked?"

"Well," she said, "Who?"

I looked up at the ceiling, and sank down onto the futon. She sat down next to me. I counted off my fingers, "Jiraiya, Naruto, Sasuke… Ryuichi… Kohohamaru… probably Neji sometime back then… A LOT." I finished, sighing. "I never want to be seen naked again." I closed my eyes.

"What about if it's a guy you like?" Shizune asked.

I shuddered, "I think I'd die," I said, "If I did that to the guy I liked…"

"I didn't mean—"

"Grace!" Naruto said, opening the door, "We're back!" he walked in, Jiraiya slumbering in behind him, a stupid gleeful look on his face.

I pointed to him and made a face at Shizune. She nodded in agreement, "I understand now," she said. "Well, I have to get back to Tsunade. Goodnight… you two…" she maneuvered around the unresponsive Jiraiya and left, waving goodbye to me. I waved back.

"You two seem to gotten close," Naruto observe.

Wait… did I just admit to Naruto being able to observe people? God… I think Hell just froze over… "Yeah," I shrugged, "She's a cool person."

"Regardless," Naruto said, rolling his shoulders, "I need to sleep and get up early tomorrow to train."

His words seemed to snap Jiraiya out of his trance, "That's right!" Jiraiya laughed, giving me the thumbs up, "Don't worry Grace! I totally will take responsibility over your training!"

"After what just happened," I muttered, "That sounds like a threat…"

"What are you talking about?" Jiraiya said, "That's not a threat! It's a compliment! Well," he said, changing attitude, "Now that bath time is over, I'm going to go drink."

"I thought you just went and drank?" I asked.

"What are you talking about?" he said, "I was just sorting things out with Tsunade! I didn't get to drown myself in wonderful perfect sake yet!" he winked at me, "Sleep well for my training tomorrow, my little bird!"

"That sounds even worse!" I yelled, throwing a pillow at him.

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I yawned and stretched, sitting up. Naruto was gone. I got up and got dressed, trying to wear clothes that I could train in, and found my boot, putting it on, then tiptoed past a drooling Jiraiya, although by the looks of it wouldn't wake up for the life of him. I smirked. He's going to have one hell of a hangover when he wakes up. I'm glad I won't be around.

When I left, the sun was up, but just barely. Naruto must have gotten up really early… but then again, I smiled, that's Naruto for you. I stretched again and then descended the exterior stairs of the hotel till I got to the bottom. "I wonder where he is…" I murmured out loud. This is the problem with Naruto… where to find him… where's Naruto… where's Waldo… Hmm… Well, they both wear outrageous outfits so it should be easy. Orange…

I scanned the area. If he's training he's probably in an open area… so… probably… somewhere… over… there? I pointed towards the outside of the village, where I could see a cluster of trees above the houses. That must be it.

I head over, and knew immediately that I was right. Yells and grunts that sounded like Naruto came from that direction as well as extremely loud sounds of smashing and wind. That's… I muttered, trying to hide my face from the curious villagers, as I walked out of the village and towards the boy. "Naruto!" I yelled, "Why are you so loud?"

He paused in the middle of his chakra build up, and glanced at me, confused, "What are you talking about?" he asked, "You're the one being loud."

I growled, then said, "Besides, what's this about leaving me behind while you get a head start in the training!?"

He blinked at me, "Well," he said, "I was going to wake you up, but you just looked so cute while you were sleeping that I just had to leave you be."

I sighed. "As long as you don't start taking pictures—I'm fine with that."

He gulped.

"Anyway," I continued, "I need to know what jutsu to study… and practice…" I gulped, "And master… damn!" I kicked the dirt with my good foot, "This isn't fair! I mean… she TOTALLY set me up! She _knows_ that I can't do jutsu!"

"Then just study an easy one," Naruto shrugged, "What about the clone jutsu?"

"That's an academy jutsu," I pouted. "I don't even know the difference between Genin and Academy and Chuunin and Jounin jutsus anyway!"

"Then wait till Jiraiya wakes up," Naruto shrugged.

I sighed, "That's be sometime tomorrow night, probably."

"I know!" Naruto said, "You can learn the Sexy Jutsu!"

I stared at him, "You've got to be kidding," I said, "You expect me to agree to that?"

"What?" Naruto said, "Jiraiya will be willing to help you learn…"

"I doubt Tsunade will approve that as a technique," I said, "Besides, how will that help me?"

"_Fine."_ Naruto said, rolling his eyes, "Learn the Harem Jutsu so you can show off your clone jutsu."

"BUT I DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT JUTSU!" I yelled.

"Weren't you just practicing?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah," I said, "But I can't even do it properly, I've never succeeded…"

"Then practice it." He said.

"But that's an Academy level technique," I said, "That doesn't count."

"Then learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu."

I wanted to hit him. "That's the Jounin Level technique!" I seethed, "That's too hard!"

Naruto collapsed onto his back, "What the hell do you want from me?!" he complained.

I followed suit, "I don't know…" I sighed, "I don't even know what I want…"

"What do you want?"

"I just said I don't _know_."

"That's impossible."

"What do you mean?"

"You know something, right? Like… you want _Saaaaassssukeeeee…."_ He squealed, hugging himself and rolling around.

I reached over and slapped him lightly, "Don't be disgusting."

He grinned, "But it's truuuueeeee, isn't it?"

"What's with you—are you drunk?" I accused.

He make a hand seal and transformed into Sasuke, "I want you, Grace," he said in deep voice.

I blushed and kicked him where the sun don't shine, and he transformed back into Naruto and lay gasping on the ground. "What…" he gasped, "Was that for?"

"You're being disgusting," I said, standing up.

"But you blushed!" he cackled, "You blushed because you saw Sasuke!"

"No!" I retorted, "I blushed because of what you said, it could have been—Neji and it would have been the same!"

"Do you like Neji?"

I blinked at him, "That's a silly question," I said, "I've never even thought that—maybe when we first met… but… no, not at all."

"Good." Naruto said, wincing as he stood up. "I think you should study the Sexy Jutsu."

"Give it up," I snapped.

"I agree!" a loud voice said behind me.

I shrieked and instinctively covered my chest, "Jiraiya!" I hissed, spinning around and glaring at him, "You have _got_ to stop sneaking up on people!"

"I agree with Naruto," he said, ignoring me, "You should study the sexy jutsu."

"But that's not a Genin Jutsu."

"Tsunade doesn't know that." He said.

"I doubt she'll let me win—she'll probably just disqualify me—besides, that' s just the transformation jutsu! And that's an Academy Jutsu!"

"Not if you add clones," Jiraiya said, grinning evilly.

"Not you too…" I sighed.

"If you add clones," he said, "Then that's combining jutsus, which is the same as a Genin Technique."

"Is that true?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"Well…" he shrugged, "It's difficult to do for an Academy student, so yeah, probably."

"Fine…" I muttered, then stopped, "Wait, no! I refuse!"

"You just agreed," Jiraiya said, nodding to Naruto, "Didn't she?"

"I did not!" I said, "You tricked me!"

"I did _not_," Jiraiya said, defensively, "You were the one who wasn't thinking and agreed without realizing it."

"Exactly," I hissed, "I didn't realize it and therefore my vote has been disqualified!"

"Well," Jiraiya said jubilantly, "In that case… All in favor of Grace learning the Sexy Jutus?"

Jiraiya and Naruto raised their hands.

"And all _not_ in favor of Grace learning the Sexy Jutsu?"

I glared at the ground as I singularly raised my hand.

"Two against one," Jiraiya muttered as he made notes in his book, "Looks like Grace will be learning the Sexy Jutsu…"

"There's no point in writing it down!" I yelled. Jeez… I am NEVER going on a mission with Jiraiya and Naruto AGAIN. I'd rather go with Neji than them. I sighed. "Looks like I have no choice." I said, "Fine, but that's going to take a lot of work, isn't it…"

"Work hard my little flower bud," Jiraiya winked at me, "I look forward to you blossoming into a flower!"

"That sounds wrong pertaining to the circumstances," I muttered. "How, exactly, and I going to train for this? Huh?" I sighed again, staring at my feet. I can't believe this is happening… oh how Sakura and Tenten will laugh when they hear of this development… I just… can't… believe… oh my God… I just… oh God… oh _God_… I hope Sasuke never hears of this… to think that my first jutsu that I learn is the Sexy Jutsu… I sighed yet again.

"First," he said, pointing at the air, "You're going to practice controlling your chakra…"

I see… "And then?" I asked.

"One step at a time." He said.

"So…" I said, "How do I practice controlling my chakra?"

"Let's see…" he said, "Probably, the first thing is for Tsunade to fix your brain…"

"It's insulting the way you just said it…" I muttered.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tsunade yawned as she opened the door, blinking at Jiraiya and I. "What the hell is it?" she snapped, "I was sleeping."

"I need you to keep your side of the bargain," Jiraiya smiled, "Fix her brain!" he pushed me towards Tsunade, caused me to face splat into her… well, let's just say I realized why guys like big breasts.

I pushed myself away from her and glared at Jiraiya, but he was gone.

"That…" Tsunade muttered, "Seriously, kid, I'm starting to feel bad for you…" she grabbed me by my arm and pulled me in quickly, "Look," she said, shoving me onto the ground and walking over the dresser where she grabbed her robe and finished dressing, "I was sleeping and I'd rather go back soon so this will be quick, got it?"

I nodded meekly, "Yes Ma'am."

She glanced at me, before continuing, "So tell me, what exactly happened that put you in this… metal state?"

I hesitated, then said, "Well, we were attacked by the Akatsuki, and Itachi Uchiha put me under a trance… or genjutsu… I think it was… _that_ technique. I don't remember the name… and… well… I sort of woke up in the hospital and then… that was that. Jiraiya told me that I needed you to totally get better."

"I see…" she said, walking over to me and kneeling in front of me. "I'm not sure…" she said, "I don't want to do this," she said, "I haven't done medical jutsu in a very long time—and I'm not really planning on going back to it… tell me," she said, "What was it that you saw in the genjutsu?"

I shook my head vigorously, biting my lip. Her eyes softened. "I see." She said, "I suppose… I suppose I can take a look, nevertheless." Her palm hovered in front of my forehead, "This won't hurt, but it may feel strange, like a presence lurking in your subconscious, sort of like a genjutsu does." The palm glowed green and that was all I could see for a moment, before it stopped and she took her palm away. "I see," she said, "It isn't much, but I can see why Jiraiya was worried, and why he wanted it cleared before you train. There is a slight… well," she said, "There are two things. The genjutsu was very powerful, and therefore it caused some slight physical damage—only _slight_—as well as lingering on. Luckily you're not still in a comma, I'm surprised, actually. Itachi must have gone easy on you."

That was an unpleasant thought.

"This will just take a moment," she said, the palm was up again and the green light glowed.

After a full minute, she pulled her hand again, and I noticed that she was sweating profusely. It wasn't the actual medical jutsu that was making her sweat, or look so nervous and unsettled, it was the act of healing that was making her that way.

"Thank you," I said, "I know how hard that must have been for you."

"Well," she shrugged, shakily getting onto her feet, "It was just a simple procedure… there wasn't any… involved…"

I nodded.

"Now," she snapped, turning her back on me, "I don't want to see you running back here for every little thing that may go wrong—you're on your own now, got it?"

I nodded, "Thank you again," I bowed respectfully then dashed out the door.

I ran, or did as best of a run as I could with the boot, although technically I suppose I could run since it was fashioned in the same way a ninja boot is, but anyway, I'm digressing, "Naruto!" I called as I, out of breath, reached him, "She did it!"

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed, "That was fast!"

"I know!" I said, "I feel a lot better!"

"How does it feel!?"

"I… don't know, exactly," I said, confused, "But I do know I feel better!"

"It's probably just physiological," Jiraiya said, "The effects of the genjutsu is gone so you subconscious is more relaxed and calm—it's simple, really."

"I see," I said, and it did make sense, "I feel a lot happier, too, I feel like I was in a bad mood for a long time…"

"That too," he said, "Physiologically, the genjutsu was wearing you down, so now that it's gone it's like being freed, right?"

"That's exactly how it feels," I said, "How did you know?"

He shrugged, and I realized that he must have had a similar genjutsu on him, once upon a time. I keep forgetting that Jiraiya is a ninja, and a powerful ninja at that. But if he's so powerful, why does he let me kick his ass all the time? It probably turns him on… ew… gross…

"Let's start your training…" Jiraiya said, "First thing—" he grinned, "Take off your clothes."

"No."

"Please?"

"NO."

"_Pleeeeeaaaaase?"_

"No."

"Fine," he spat, "Then just start training controlling your chakra."

"How?" I asked.

"Same way that you did before we left," he said, "Try building it up into your arm and then punch it out. This is a very basic technique—it's so basic it's not even a technique."

"Ok," I said.

"Then," he said, "After you do that for a while, you'll practice charging your chakra, you'll need to master that in order to transform."

"And then?"

"And _then_," he continued, "You'll have to learn to observe your environment and practice keeping a metal image of what it is you want to transform into."

"And then?"

"And _then_," he continued, "You'll have to practice transforming into things."

"And then?"

"And _then_," he continued, "You'll have to practice Shadow Clone."

"And then—what?" I asked, "Isn't that a Jonin level technique?"

He shrugged, "Naruto was able to master it, right?"

"Ugh…" I gurgled, "You've got to be kidding…"

"Besides," He grinned, "A jonin level combined with an Academy level equals… a Genin level!"

You have _got_ to be kidding me…

"So the first step," I said, "Is to practice controlling my chakra… huh?"

"Hup."

"What was that?" I asked, "Did you just say 'hup'?"

"I did, didn't I…" he said, a pondering look on his face, "Maybe I'm still drunk…" he joked.

"That would explain your whole life…" I muttered, sitting down and ignoring his complaints. "Practice controlling my chakra…" I muttered to myself. "Go away!" I told him, "Leave now, slave."

"I'm not your slave," he sniffed before leaving.

I sighed and glanced at the ground, then lifted my right arm. I need to draw the chakra to that arm… I closed my eyes and meditated on gaining a mental visual of the chakra in my body. I was slightly surprised to actually sense the glow and surges of it, and then focused on drawing it to my arm. I imagined that there was a current in my chakra, and that current was heading for my arm. I felt tingling go up my arm and start to bead into my hand, and I grinned. When I felt a large surge, I let out a yell and hit the ground. I opened my eyes to see a small dent in the ground. "Yeah!" I cried out, "It worked!"

"Naruto was too far away and absorbed in his work to notice her amazing achievements," I narrated out loud. I grinned, "Whatever!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I'm so tired!" I reeled backwards and lay on my back, staring at the noon sky. "How much longer? I want to go to the next step already!" But Jiraiya wasn't here yet to give me instructions… and I don't want to charge into the next step without learning, or I'll probably mess something up…

I frowned and watched the clouds shift slowly. "I wonder…" I mused. Why is it that Naruto and Sakura and Jiraiya and Shizune and everyone always try to bring up the idea of Sasuke and I being together? Are we really that great of a couple? We couldn't be more opposite. Sasuke probably can't stand to be near me… speaking of which… I really hope he's doing ok… I hope I can learn this jutus fast so we can go back to the village soon… I really _really_ really hope so… and other than that… I hope…

But are we really that well suited? I mean, I know that we care for each other—or at least, I care for him, I'm not sure how he thinks of me, I'll have to ask him when we get home… but…

I wonder…

"_Hn." The tall, dark and handsome man said as he entered the door._

"_Welcome home, darling," The charmingly stunning woman said, kneeling respectfully at the door to welcome her husband home. "How was work today?"_

"_Hn."_

"_Was you're meeting successful?"_

"_Hn."_

"_I made your favorite dish tonight!"_

"_Hn."_

"_How about we take a bath later, darling?"_

"Oh God what's with the perverted typical house wife scenario!?" I shrieked, covering my virgin eyes from my imagination.

Although, I smirked, it probably wouldn't go like that.

"_I'm home_." _Sasuke said as he walked in the door. He heard snoring and glanced towards the living room. Upon entering, he saw his wife, that totally domestically inept slob, Grace, snoring as she slept on the couch, still in her sleeping clothes. _

"_I…" he said, "I suppose I'll start supper now…"_

I giggled into my armpit, "No… no…" I said, wiping tears from my eyes, "I'm not that much of a slob… it probably would go like this…"

"_I'm home!" _ _Sasuke called as he entered the door, only to step on a squeaking toy on the ground. _

"_I'm in the playroom!" Grace called from a room farther in the house. "Can you get supper started?"_

"_Sure," Sasuke said as he walked into the kitchen._

"_Daddy!" a little girl ran up to him, "Pick me up! Pick me up!"_

_He smiled as he lifted her up and set her on his shoulders, "Do you want to help me Ayame—"_

"_Sorry," Grace said as she came in, cradling a young toddler in her arms with two others hanging onto her legs, "I just put the twins down for their nap—it's so hard to nurse two at a time…"_

"_You should rest more," he said, accusingly, "You don't get enough sleep."_

"_I can't help it," she said, "I can't keep up with twins…" she glanced down at the little boy and girl clinging to her, "Are you ok?" she asked, "What's wrong?"_

_They shook their heads and grinned at her. She sighed and then, playfully, shooed them outside to play. "I'll be outside, ok?" she said, going up to her husband and kissing him on the— _

"What…" I said out loud, "Why am I fantasizing about being Sasuke's wife?!?!?!" I shrieked again, "And I was enjoying myself too!?!?" I rolled onto my stomach, "I'm so confused…" I murmured. Why is my heart beating so fast when I was thinking of that scenario, and why does it make me so happy to think that… What's this strange content feeling I'm getting? It's like I _want_ that to happen…

I squealed in surprise as someone poked my back. "I _hate_ it when people do that!" I muttered, rolling onto my back and staring at Jiraiya.

"Grace," he said, "What's _kissing_?"

"I don't know," I said, rolling my eyes, thinking of an answer that he would say, "Swapping spit?"

He grinned, "It's an upper persuasion for a lower invasion…"

I kicked him hard where the sun don't shine.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoo

_To be continued…_

Tada! On Halloween I will be posting a Halloween chapter! There will probably be one chapter in-between, though.

Well, stay tuned!


	54. Bonus Chapter: Halloween

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: HALLOWEEN! (Or sort of)

BEFOREWORD: Well, this was ALMOST not on Halloween! I've been having problems with Microsoft word and I was almost unable to write this but then I was finally able to convince my mom to let me use _her_ computer so here it is! I hope everyone is having a great Halloween (if you celebrate it and if you don't you SHOULD you get candy!) Anyway, on the half chance that there are those of you from countries that don't celebrate Halloween, I created this chapter so it wasn't exactly Halloween but similar, so it's all fair.

This chapter was VERY rushed so if it doesn't make sense just know that I'm very hyper and tried a little too hard to get this chapter. I think I wrote it in one hour… (that means you'll find a lot of errors)

IN CASE I HAVEN'T ENFORCED THE CONCEPT ENOUGH ALREADY, THIS CHAPTER WAS PRETTY RUSHED AND BADLY WRITTED (I won't lie, it's true, I just wanted to make sure I got it out in time). IT IS FOR YOUR AMUSEMENT ONLY! YOU CAN LAUGH AT THE BAD GRAMMER AND PLOT CONSTRUCTION IF YOU WANT.

oOoOoOoOoOOooOOOOOooooOOOoOoOoOo

"So…" I said, tapping my chin. "It's sort of like Halloween, isn't it?"

"What's Halloween?" Naruto asked with a slight grimace, rubbing his head with a hand as he glared piteously at Sakura, who looked somewhat smug.

"It's a holiday—of sorts—that people dress up." I said, "I've never dealt too much into its history but all I care about is you go around getting candy and scaring people."

"Ooh—I like it!" Naruto squealed, "Let's do that instead!"

"We can't change an entire _village's_ tradition!" Sakura shouted, hitting him over the head.

"Whaaat?" Naruto whined, "Grace suggested it! All hail the princess," he said, bowing mockingly.

"There, there," I sighed, trying to ignore his jest, "I didn't suggest that we do that, I just made the observation that it was sort of similar to a festival from my…homeland…"

Naruto and Sakura looked intrigued at the mention of my homeland, so I continued quickly before they could ask any pestering questions. "Anyway, so if I have this straight this is a Summer Festival that people in the village celebrate, right?"

"Right," Sakura nodded.

"And if I'm also correct, the village sections off into countless groups to create stations or booths in which to entertain each other and compete?"

"Right," Sakura nodded again.

"And if I'm _correct_," I continued, "We have to dress up?"

"Yup!" Naruto grinned, "And we sighed you up to be apart of our team—We're calling it TEAM NARUTO—"

Naruto crouched on the floor, rubbing his hand as Sakura cracked her knuckles. "I _told_ you," She seethed, "Not to go ahead and register us under that name—but you _didn't listen_…"

He whimpered quietly.

"Anyway," Sakura sighed, "We have a group that consists of you, me, Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Tenten, Konohamaru, Hinata, Lee, Kiba, Shino—"

"The Rookie Nine plus Team Guy?" I asked, already somewhat apprehensive about this.

"Correct," Sakura said, "Anyway, we have to group together and decide what our theme is going to be."

"And I _still_ think it should be a maid café," Naruto muttered.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What is _with_ you guys?" Tenten asked Kiba and Naruto with a raised eyebrow, "We are _not_ doing a maid café."

"I," Naruto said, putting a hand delicately on his chest as he puffed it up and looked at Tenten down his nose, "Think it's a spectacular idea. Just imagine what Sasuke will do when he sees Grace is a maid costume! Probably one of his biggest fantasies…"

"You pervert," Tenten muttered, but already her mind was working like a wheel in motion.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked as she approached them.

"I don't like the idea anymore," Kiba muttered.

"What?" Naruto asked, "You don't like the idea of seeing the girls in maid costumes?"

"Hey don't get me wrong," Kiba snorted, "I want that as much as the next guy but—"

The door to the large, loud room open and a slightly pissed off looking Sasuke walked through the door.

"Speak of the devil," Kiba muttered.

"Sasuke!" Grace yelled, waving to him from her position near the back of the room, where she had been chatting amiably with Konohamaru and Neji, but _what_ exactly she could be talking about with Neji in such a pleasant tone, although she and Konohamaru were the only ones expressing such emotions, completely passed right over Naruto and Sakura's comprehensions.

Sasuke looked at her, saw who she was chatting with, grimaced, then walked directly over.

Sakura and Tenten watched with slight amusement as Sasuke (seemingly) butted into the conversation somewhat rudely and (apparently) seemed to annoy Neji (to a great extent) and take Grace by the arm and lead her (by force) over to where Sakura and Naruto were standing.

"_You_." He said as he approached, glaring at Naruto. He let go of Grace's arm and she rubbed it. "What the _hell_ did you do?"

"What did I do?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Who the _hell_ told you I wanted to participate in this joke?" Sasuke spat.

"You don't have to be here," Sakura said, "You can go to the registry and cross off your name from our team, you know."

He turned his glare towards her, then nodded, "I will, and don't forget I _hate_ these things. It pisses me off that you'd just go off and sign my name without even asking for me you simple-minded idiot."

Naruto stuck his tongue out.

"You're right," Kiba said, shrugged his shoulders before looking at Sasuke with a competitive look, "You don't have to stay—I think you should know, though, before you go off and leave, that the _theme_ of our team is a maid café." He looked at Grace, and she blushed slightly. "Of course," Kiba said, smirking as he turned his attention towards Sasuke, "Without _you_ there they'll be less competition for the attention of said maids," his eyes flickered towards Grace again.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Fine," he said, "I'm in—but don't expect me to help. I have no interest in these things. I'm just here to make sure that things don't get out of control." He glared at Kiba, who shrugged innocently.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"How the hell did _I_ become the manager?" Sasuke muttered as he stared at the clipboard in his hands.

"First," I said, lifting one finger, "Who said: "I'm just here to make sure things don't get out of control.", second," I said, lifting up two fingers, "You're good at bossing people around, and three," I said, lifting up three fingers, "You wouldn't follow anyone else's instructions so we _had_ to make you Team Leader."

He sighed, "I suppose I am the only one suited to be leader… but seriously , this place is a complete mess."

I'm not sure whether I should be insulted by his first statement. "Well," I said, "We've only started a few hours ago…."

And have gotten nowhere.

Literally.

"NARUTO YOU DUMBASS!" Sakura yelled as she hit said 'dumbass' over the head, "You said you got a place!"

"I _did_!" Naruto whined.

"The ramen shop isn't an appropriate place for a maid café!" Tenten seethed, crossing her arms.

"Poor bastard," I said, shaking my head.

"It's only what he deserves," Sasuke muttered, "Besides, I suppose the first this is to get a place ready. Neji!" he said, getting Neji's attention, "You and Tenten go establish a base, Sakura and Kiba, you are in charge of gathering rations and necessities. Hinata, Shino, Lee, and Naruto are in charge of decorating. Ino and Shikamaru are in charge of outfits, and Choji… you can go with the rations squad."

Why does everything suddenly sound like the military?

"What about me?" I asked.

He glanced at me, then at his clipboard, as if studying something important, "You're my assistant." He said.

I had a nasty suspicion that he wanted to keep an eye on me.

"Ok," I said, then I pointed at Konohamaru and Bingley, "What about them?"

"They can help decorations." He said, not glancing up.

"What about—"

"Just stop asking questions."

"But—"

"I'm concentrating."

"But—"

"Just don't talk."

I glared at him and stuck my tongue out before turning around and crossing my arms, sniffing, "Fine, I'm going to go help Naruto find decorations," then, before he could protest, I said, "Of course, as you _assistant_ you need someone to supervise, right?" then I grinned, winked at him, and skipped off after them.

oOoOoOoOoOOoOOoOOoooOo

"Wow," I said, "We bought so much stuff…"

And Lee was carrying it all. Wow.

"We need to have a large amount of decorations if we are to fill the space that Neji and Tenten found for us." Shino informed us, "And not only that, but we much create it to look like a café, which will be a hard task to do."

"I see…" I said, musingly, if only… "AHA!" I said, "I know the perfect ninja for the job!"

Now to only mess up the entire order of things and go find the man who should not be named (yet)! If I can find him. I left the others to unpack, with Sakura and Kiba's assistance, and wondered off in search for the man who should not be named (yet). "RYUICHI!" I called.

He landed in front of me, sliding his ANBU mask off with a grimace, "Don't yell my name so loudly," he said, "I don't want _everyone_ to know you know who your ANBU guard is—it sort of defeats the purpose of me being here."

"Regardless," I shrugged, "We're doing a maid café and we need to build the café's inside, so…Find the person with the wood technique."

He cocked his head at me, a blank look on his face, "Sorry," he said after a moment, "I'm still stuck on the 'maid café' part, what was that?"

"Yamato," I said, "Find him."

"Can't," he said, "Don't know where he is."

"Well, _find_ him," I said.

"I'm on duty," he said.

"If I get captured and killed while you're gone I won't blame you," I said.

"Sorry," he shrugged, "Can't leave."

"You just want to see the girls in maid costumes," I said suspiciously.

He grinned, then disappeared, but I knew he was somewhere nearby. I shrugged. It was worth a try.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Did you find whoever you were looking for?" Sakura asked when I arrived.

"No… wow!" I said, "This place looks pretty good!"

"My dad came over—what a drag…" Shikamaru muttered as he passed me.

"You're dad has some impressive jutsu," I said, wide eyed. The place looked like an actual café. Note that I've been gone a few hours searching for the man who much not be named (yet) without any results.

"Nah," Shikamaru shrugged, "My mom caught wind of what we were doing and threatened to lock him up if he didn't come and help out."

The scary thing is that his mom probably was kidding. I remember the first time I met his mother… well, that's a different story. "Anyway," I said, "If you're back than that means that you probably have finished finding the costumes."

"Well," Ino sniffed with a prideful look, "The girls' were easy, since it was maids costumes, but I put a lot of effort into the boys."

"You got the same outfit for each boy," Shikamaru muttered, "What's thoughtful about that?"

"They are NOT the same," Ino snapped, "Don't you realize that each is unique?"

"They're all waiters," Shikamaru muttered, "What's original about that?"

"Well," she shrugged, "The _other_ boys are all the same—but _Sasuke's_ costume is the best!"

"What did you pick for his?" I asked, wondering what was on Sasuke's mind when he paired these two up, unless it was for the sadistic pleasure of watching them bicker.

"A vampire!" Ino squealed, "Won't that be just sooooo sexy?"

I turned to look as Sasuke instructed people on where different decorations and table cloths should go. "I hate to admit it—but, yeah, it kind of does fit him…" in a sad sort of way… and when I say sad I mean pitiful.

"I'm so excited to see him like that! He'll be the kind of the café!" Ino squealed again.

Shikamaru and I rolled our eyebrows.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOoOo

"I am _not_ wearing this." I said, "This is sexual harassment."

"Oh come_ on_," Ino said, placing her hands on her hips, "Everyone knows that maids in a maid café have to be sexually alluring, what's the attraction besides that?"

"I don't know, coffee?" I asked. Then I remember Ryuichi's reaction to 'maid café' and I frowned. Men are perverted. But… that's probably the point Ino is trying to make. So far Hinata and I were the only ones not yet dressed. Poor Hinata. I think she's going to faint of nervousness.

"It's ok Hinata," I said, "Don't worry, I'll do it if you do it, ok?"

She nodded. I think she's going to cry. I gave Ino the 'look what you did!' but she turned her head and gave the 'innocent' look. Damn…

By the time we were all ready it was already sunset and time for the booths to start.

"Here's what will happen," Sasuke instructed everyone, "We'll go in shifts so we can all work at the café, and then two at a time will leave for a half hour to go and look at the other booths. Understand?"

We all nodded, the girls trying not to stare at Sasuke's costume.

Truth be told, he actually looks quite stunning in a vampire outfit. It… sort of fits him, outwardly and inwardly. Kinda weird….

"Anyway," I said, placing my hands on my hips, "Do we _have_ wear these?"

"_Yes_." Naruto and Kiba said in unison.

"We have a customer," Shino informed us in his normal monotone.

We all rushed into a crazy array of arranging ourselves.

The man walked in, looked at the girls, then grinned. Oh great, and big old pervert. As long as it isn't Jiraiya—oh GOD! Jiraiya's going to come isn't he?!

Now I'm paranoid…

I walked over to the man and smiled at him, "What would you like to order?" I asked, handing him a menu. Don't ask me where we got the menu, but somehow Shino manage to get it.

Shino is quite reliable.

The man gave me his order and I smiled, left his table and headed for the counter, with an eerie feeling that the man was watching me.

I got his drink, brought it to him and returned to the counter, where Sasuke, the (apparent) manager, was standing. "Sasuke," I said, "Is there something wrong with my costume?"

He looked at my costume, then his face turned red and he looked away. "No." he said.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, "Come be a costumer!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, before Naruto rushed over and grabbed him, "I am hereby releasing you from duties," he said, and dragged him over to a table. "Grace!" he said, "Costumer at table one!"

"You don't have to be so loud," I muttered as I walked over. "What would you like?" I asked.

"What would you like, _master_?" Naruto said from behind me.

I rolled my eyes, "What would you like, _master_?"

"Again." Naruto said.

I rolled my eyes yet again, "What would you like—_master!_" I said, squealed as Naruto pushed my back and causing me to bend over. "Naruto!" I said, "Why did you do that?"

He grinned and pointed at Sasuke.

I looked, and saw with shock the oddest look on Sasuke's face. "Oh dear," I said, "It's happened again—we need a first aid kit!" I said, rushing over to where Shino was. He handed me the kit, before saying:

"Grace. He is not injured." but I didn't hear what he said after that.

"Here," I said, kneeling in front of Sasuke and wiping his nose with a handkerchief.

"You're just adding fuel to the fire." Naruto observed.

"You're sexist for making me wear this," I snapped.

"You agreed to it."

"All men are perverts and should be locked up for even coming up with this kind of costume." I seethed.

"It's not my fault people are perverted."

"They're sexist." I said.

"They're not." He said, "They just like beauty."

Why are we even arguing about this? Ever notice how most arguments you have with people are about the most random things and it might not even start as an argument and even if you both agree you can't stop?

"It's not beautiful!" I said, standing up and crossing my arms, "They're making a statement that says: This woman has boobs, therefore she's a sex prospect!"

"Well," Kakashi said from behind Naruto, "Just because a person has boobs doesn't mean—"

Kiba and Naruto turned towards him with confused and slightly horrified looks on their faces.

Kakashi sighed, "Alright guys, _sometimes_, there's a guy who actually wants—"

"Let's go before this gets complicated," I said, grabbing Sasuke by the arm and dragging him out of the café.

"Where are we going?" Sasuke asked.

"Somewhere," I said, "I just don't want to be in there for much longer—and I don't just mean Kakashi's speech that will undoubtedly scar Kiba and Naruto's perception of the world and make them question every woman they see but also the fact that this costume is sort of making me mad."

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"I have nothing wrong with maid costumes," I said, "Because I have nothing wrong with maids, and I actually think that these costumes are cute—did you see Hinata? But what pisses me off is when people assume that when you're wearing—never mind," I said, "It doesn't matter. I'm just dressing up. Anyway," I said, "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't really care," Sasuke mumbled, his eyes watching our hands, which were locked together.

"Ah!" I said, pulling my hand away from his, "I didn't even realize we were holding hands! Sorry!"

He grabbed my hand away and then looked away from me. "It's ok…" he mumbled, "I don't mind."

I blushed and smiled. I didn't mind it either.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOo

"Let's go in here!" I said, stopping at a booth and pointing inside.

"Grace…" Sasuke started.

"Whaaat?" I asked, "It looks like fun—look! People are going in happy and coming out… sort of… like they just saw the ghost of their dead spouse…

"It's a haunted house." Sasuke warned, "You _know_ you're not good at horror stuff…"

"Oh come on," I said, "I'm great with that stuff!"

"Don't lie."

"Ok," I said, my voice wavering, "I'm horrible and I'm scared—but I have to try it at least once!"

Sasuke sighed, "Fine," he said, "We'll go but _don't blame me later_."

"I won't, I won't…"

OOoOoOoOoOoOOoOoOoOooOoO

"Why the hell did you make me come in here!" I cried into Sasuke's shoulder as we walked through the dark corridor. Sasuke rolled his eyes. He was completely unfazed by the place, nothing seemed to scare him. He walked with a steady pace, his arm around me for support, seeing as if he didn't I would probably fall over. I was huddled against him, my face in his neck as I tried to block out everything.

"I told you not to blame me later." He said.

"I didn't know!" I wailed.

A large headless monster appeared in front of us and I shrieked jumping on Sasuke and causing him to grunt with the sudden weight as his back slammed into the wall. We slid to the ground. "Ooh…" I whimpered as I wrapped my arms around his neck, "Ooh…."

Sasuke just sat there, "Am I hurting you?" I asked, but I had no intention of getting up and leaving protection. He shook his head. "Are you suffocating?" I asked.

He nodded his head. "Are you sure?" I asked.

He nodded his head.

"Are you—"

"Look, I'm sure." He said, his face finally surfacing from under my chest, "What do you _think_?"

"Sorry," I said as I scrambled off of him and he stood up, brushing off his cape and looking genuinely odd. His face was red again and he looked like his nose might start bleeding. At least he's not having and Iruke-sensei kind of nosebleed! He probably just knocked his nose against something. "Can…" I said, "Can I hold your hand again?"

He blushed, "Sure." He said.

I grabbed his hand, and when a creepy sound came through the wall and grabbed onto his arm and nearly shook. "What's that noise?" I whispered.

"Look," he sighed, "It's all fake, why can't you realize that?"

"I know," I said, "But there's that split second when you think maybe it's real…"

"Well," he muttered, "That split second passed a long time ago."

"But then you start doubting your common sense…" I whimpered, "And you start thinking that maybe those monsters and sounds really _do_ exist and that's when you start freaking out!"

He stared at me for a moment. "Grace," he said calmly, "You're not a little kid."

"Oh come on!" I snapped, "This happens to adults too! It's happened to you!"

He scowled at me and looked away. "We're not talking about me, we're talking about you."

"I don't care," I said, "I don't care whom we're talking about. We're still talking about the same—"

There was a horrified scream and the white figure of a girl with black blood oozing out of her chest appeared before us.

I screamed and latched onto him even harder, "I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm—"

Sasuke growled his annoyance before grabbing him and suddenly the whole place disappeared, and when I opened my eyes we were outside and on the street again.

"Oh." I said, not letting go of him, "We're back…" I was shaking.

He sighed, his arms still around me, "You don't have to be afraid anymore," he said, "I'm not going to let you get scared."

"That's pleasing to hear," I said, "But that won't—"

I stopped speaking as he leaned towards me, his face inches from mine, I think… I think that we might…

"Want some dumplings?"

We separated an inch apart as a man who looked oddly familiar offered a tray of dumplings. I reached for one but Sasuke grabbed my hand and threw the man an irritated glare before stalking off, dragging me off with him. "What was that all about?" I asked, "The man was just offering some dumplings."

"He—interrupted—finally—never mind." Sasuke muttered.

We were walking down a dark road, heading towards the café. We were still holding hands, and it felt oddly… right.

"You don't get scared easily," I said, "do you?"

"No."

I smiled. Maybe he was right, maybe it's time that I stop letting that sneaky doubt creep into my back anytime I see something scary.

A long piercing cry emanated from the shadows before us.

Sasuke and I stood stock still, before turning towards each other, our faces mimicking our thoughts.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOoOooOoOo

END

Haha!

Right, I don't remember my point…

Happy Halloween!

fUnKyToEs


	55. The Fifth Hokage: Part XVI

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part XVI (holy cow! This arc is too long!)

WORDS: 5, 090 words

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters or the plot of _Naruto_

BEFOREWORD: Uh… I can't believe I actually got this chapter out in time… o.o I think I'm turning over a new leaf! *tearful* Please forgive any misspelling or grammatical errors or any other errors that I might of missed while editing this chapter

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Her kimono rustled as she walked through the halls. "Keiko, where are you?" she called out softly. The halls were dark, but richly decorated with silk wallpaper, the wood floors and door bases of the finest craft and the paper covering the doors of the finest rice paper. "Are you in here?" she asked as she stopped in front of a door. She slid the door open and stepped inside. The room was as fine as the hall, but dimly lit. She slowly gazed around the room, before walking over to a wardrobe at the far end. "Keiko," she said, "Please, will you come out now?"

Small sobs emanated from the wardrobe, and she clasped her hands together and ascended towards it. "There you are." She said, simply and quietly, in a calm tone, "I was looking for you."

The sobs quieted but did not diminish. There was a quake in the voice as words bubbled through, but they were subdued by the walls of the wardrobe and by the grief of the one speaking.

"Please stop this," she said, "There's no need for you to be upset anymore, Keiko." She reached for the door and turned the handle, pulling the dark stained wooden, heavy doors towards herself and away, and gazing into the black shadow that came from within the wardrobe. The crying ceased, and from within, a pair of—

"Wah—ah…" I blinked as I glanced up at the bright azure sky. "What kind of dream was that?" I murmured out loud. "Who was Keiko? And why the hell was I—"

"Well I don't know who Keiko was," A voice said from beyond my vision, "But you sure are cute when you're sleeping."

I leaned back onto my head to peer, upside down, at the speaker. "Lady Tsunade!" I exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "What an irritating question. I came here to check on how you little squirts were doing—and I also happen to be looking for Jiraiya. What," she said, looking with slight disdain and amusement at my position on the floor. "Are you doing there on the ground?"

"Ah…I… must have fallen asleep…" I said, awkwardly rolling my body onto my stomach before scrambling to my feet, "Sorry…"

She sighed, "There's no need to apologize," she said, "You didn't do anything wrong—after all, it's in my favor if you lose the bet."

I scowled at her. And for a moment I thought she was being nice to me! The bitch!

"So if you're done here you can go," I snapped, "I don't need you lecturing me if you want nothing to do with me advancing."

"Sorry to break it to you," she returned with equal spite, "But no matter how hard you try you're not going to advance to nothing—little fangirl!"

"Fan—and what gives you the right to say that?" I growled, "I don't even have a boy I like!"

"I don't even know the poor bastard and I know you like him!"

"I don't like Sasuke!"

She grinned, her eyes flashing with glee. "I didn't mention Sasuke, did I?"

I opened my mouth, and then closed it. "What…" My God… she's right. She didn't mention Sasuke! I just dug my own grave!

"This _is_ interesting," She said, flipping her golden hair over her shoulder, "I'm almost willing to return to the Leaf Village if only to see you torture the poor boy."

"I don't torture him," I muttered, crossing my arms and throwing her a distrustful glance, "Sasuke and I are just friends—that _all_. I don't _want_ to be anything else."

"You'll break the poor boy's heart."

"You don't even know him—you said so yourself!" I shouted, "How the hell do you know if he likes me!"

"Oh _please_," she said, "First you're denying that you like him and now you're denying him the right to like you? I knew there was a reason I didn't like you. Maybe it would be a good thing if Sasuke didn't like you. You don't deserve a boy like him—he's way out of your league."

"Hey," I growled, how the hell does she know I'm out of his league! This woman… does she have cameras all over the village? That or she read Jiraiya's book… crap, what if she read that book! I knew I should have destroyed it! "I could get a guy like Sasuke if I wanted." Although deep down I'm not sure I am…

"Really?" She laughed scornfully, "I highly doubt that."

"Oh yeah?" I said, "Fine! I'll prove it to you!"

"With _what_?" she asked.

Good question. Too bad I didn't think that far. Damn it! I'm like the walking talking robot in which they forgot to program common sense! I clasped my hands behind me. "I'm not sure…" I said, my voice pitifully expressing that insecurity.

She grinned, "Shall I suggest something—"

"Hey Tsunade!" Jiraiya yelled. We turned towards him as he approached us, grinning widely and waving with his whole arm. "Well, well," he said, "I can't believe it—_two_ hot woman before me in the same place, can't believe my luck!"

Tsunade and I narrowed our eyes in distrust.

"And to add to it," Jiraiya added, digging his own grave, "Those two hot women were fighting—all I need now is for you to strip off your clothes and go at it like lioness fighting over the—"

He gasped in utter pain as his head was hit on either side by Tsunade and my fists. He collapsed onto the grown, growing as he clutched his head.

"You went too far," Tsunade and I growled in unison, then we grinned at each other. That was kind of funny if you ask me.

Tsunade frowned and looked at her fists, then at me, "That was impressive," she said, "Normally that would send Jiraiya flying."

"Well my punch must have offset yours." I said, shrugging before turning around.

"That's…" Tsunade began, "Never mind." She shook her head and turned around and walked away.

I walked a few steps before yelling, "Naruto! Come over here!" Naruto, a little ways off nearer to the grove of trees, all of which were utterly destroyed and decimated by spirals that were obviously attempts at Rasengan. Good things there's no environmentalists here, or they'd try to arrest Naruto on the spot. He frowned at me and before sniffing and turning around.

"I'm training," he shouted back, "Stop bothering me!"

I halted in my steps, glaring at him, "Fine!" I said, "I will!"

"Grace…" A hand grabbed my shoulder.

"Jiraiya," I said, "Get your hand off me or I will make it impossible for you to watch woman bathe as a 'true' man."

His hand left my shoulder before I could even stop the sentence. "You're pretty strong," he noted, "Too offset—"

"What's the next step," I asked him, "And have I even mastered the first step?"

"What? You're not done yet?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped, "I'm not Sasuke or Neji—I'm no genius! I'm not even Academy level…" I muttered. Then I sighed. "Seriously, though, I don't think I'm cut out to be a ninja."

"That's true," Jiraiya agreed, "Physically and mentally you don't have the stability or the drive to be a ninja, and although you have a larger amount of chakra than the average person, you'll probably never be a ninja," he frowned at me, "But that doesn't mean you can't try."

My mouth turned downwards and I gazed at him with countenance. "You're right," I said, "I suppose I just don't have the motivation to train like Sasuke or Naruto, or any ninja even," I sighed again, "I just don't know why I can't have that kind of enthusiasm. It's like I just don't have that… spirit of a ninja."

"That spirit," Jiraiya started, "Isn't something only a ninja can have, though. That spirit is something that is given birth to by a goal, a desire to protect something, whether it is you friends, family, honor, you're village, anything you hold dear, even if it isn't positive, like Sasuke's drive for vengeance, it's still something that is enwrapped in your soul, and it is what drives you to become a better, stronger person, to achieve the unachievable, and accomplish the what can't be accomplished. It is what drives people to prove that nothing is impossible. There's no such thing as a person who doesn't have this in them, the only difference between you and Naruto, or Sasuke, or Neji or anyone of your friends is you are lacking that goal, you are lacking that one thing you wish to protect, that drive, that motivation, that impossible thing that you _will_ prove possible. Until you learn what path you wish to follow, and what destination that path will lead you to, you will never be able to succeed."

He turned around and walked away, "I'll check in later. For now, you're training is to find out what you're goal is." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Find out… what my goal is…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I took a long, deep swallow of tea, and exhaled slowly, the hot air condensing on my cup. "That's good tea," I murmured, my eyes closed. I opened my eyes and peered around the dark shop. Crap… I hope that strange woman doesn't come around again… wait, this is a different village, not to mention I'm not dressed as a boy… I shuddered at the memory of our farewells. Can't believe the witch kissed me. Ugh…

Anyway, I did to do what Jiraiya said and figure out what it is that I'm fighting for… because even if I lose if Naruto wins that she's still going to be Hokage… And I certainly don't care about the necklace to win this… so what _is_ it that I'm so… what do I _have_ to fight for? To learn this for? Certainly not for Sasuke… I mean, don't get me wrong, I want to fight for Sasuke as much as I've always wanted to, but I don't think I'll ever sink so low as to show, let alone _tell_ Sasuke that I learned this jutsu…so what is it that I want to do? What's my motivation? What's at the core of my fighting spirit?

Do I even have a fighting spirit?

I sighed dramatically and collapsed onto the table. Crap…I'm completely useless…

"Completely useless…" I repeated out loud.

But truly, what is it? Is this really about the Sexy Jutsu?

I blinked. That's it! This isn't about learning the Sexy Jutsu, this is about becoming stronger! By learning the Sexy Jutsu, or the transformation jutsu as I will refer to this training from now on, I will be strengthening myself to do greater things, preparing myself to protect the things I care about!

I put money on the table, not caring if I put too much, and dashed out. Where's Jiraiya? I need to see him. Aha! There he—"Jiraiya you pervert!" I yelled, pointing at him.

He froze and spun around, glaring at me as people sent him strange looks and the two woman he was talking too gave him a rather disgusted look and walked away. "Hey wait!" he cried out as he spun back towards them, desperately trying to convince them to stay, "Don't go!" his shoulders slumped in defeat as they ignored him, "You…" he muttered, turning around and giving me the death glare, "How many times do I have to tell you—don't call me pervert in public! I was just talking with those girls!"

"Yeah right," I muttered, "Anyway, I figured it out."

His face turned serious and he stood up taller, "And what is it?" he asked.

"My goal," I said, "Is to get stronger, so I don't need others to protect me, and instead _I'll_ be the one to protect them."

"And who do you want to protect?"

I paused. Who? That's an interesting question. "The whole village," I said. "I want to protect the Leaf Village."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOOoOo

"Good for you," Jiraiya praised, "So you can successfully punch out your chakra. Now you're the same level as an Academy student that's only been attending for one day!"

"Don't make fun of me—I started eleven years too late."

"Fine, fine," he laughed, "Well, the next step is to practice charging you're chakra."

"Isn't that what I was just doing?" I asked.

"Well, partly," he agreed, "You _were_ charging you're chakra but you were releasing it right away, this time you're not releasing it, you're charging, which is a buildup. Before you were just transferring chakra, but now you're actually seeing how much chakra you can pump but not release it—this will be hard, it's something that Naruto even has trouble with. The good this with this exercise is you can learn how to properly charge enough chakra, but not too much, to successfully perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu. If you don't, then you end up using too much, and that's a waste of energy and chakra, you see?"

"I see…" I mused, "So basically instead of releasing anything that I charged this time I have to keep it inside and charge as much as I can?"

"Exactly, now, let me see you do it."

I nodded and back up a little, closing my eyes.

I opened them, "Nothing's happening." I said, "I feel a small surge but nothing major."

"You idiot…" Jiraiya muttered, shaking his head in mock despair, "What's the one thing you see ninja do when they're charging chakra?"

"Um…" I racked my brain for possibilities. "They go into the standard fighting stance," I placed myself into that stance, arms ready, feet the same width apart as my shoulders, my left foot, because I'm right handed, more forward then the right foot by at least a foot, if not a foot in a half. "Right," I said, "I think I got it."

"That's just to keep balance and prepare for a fight," Jiraiya said, "You do realize that has nothing to do with charging chakra in general."

I frowned, "I suppose—the hand seal!" I shouted.

"That's right," Jiraiya grinned, "The hand seal, you need to do the hand seal to charge chakra properly. Actually, if you're skilled enough you don't have to, but using the hand seal helps mobilize the chakra, as well as helps you concentrate. For a beginner like you, it would be much, much better if you used the hand seal."

"But…" I started, "I'm not sure if I even know what the hand seal _is_."

He sighed and walked over to me. "Turn around," he instructed. I did so and he put his arms around me, his hands on my hands. I frowned, "You're just doing this because—"

"Shut up and listen," he snapped, He moved my hands into the proper positioning. "This is the standard hand seal, used especially for charging chakra. We'll go over hand seals another day. Regardless, I want you to practice this hand seal along with charging you're chakra, got it?"

"Got it." I said. My hand frozen into place, I closed my eyes and focused on my inner being. I felt a large surge of chakra, and then it completely disappeared. "What happened?" I asked, opening my eyes and looking at Jiraiya in dazed confusion, "I could of sworn I felt a large surge of chakra."

"Look at the ground." He said.

I looked down and saw with surprise that the ground around my feet was dark, almost black, and grass was burnt. "What happened?" I asked.

"You dispersed you're chakra," he said.

"I…oh, I see. By why is it burnt?"

"It was a larger amount of chakra than before," he said, "And remember that you have fire styled chakra, or at least, you're predominant chakra is the fire element, so it's only natural that it would burn. That's because you released pure chakra, not in a jutsu or clone. That's what happens," he explained, "You'll want to be careful."

"Will that hurt someone?" I asked.

He shrugged, "It won't necessarily burn someone, if you're careful. The grass isn't exactly burning, it's more smoldering. It's as if the area at your feet got very, very hot. Like… let's see…. you're body got very, very hot. I suppose hypothetically you could hurt someone, but it would take a major amount of raw chakra to do so."

"I see…" I said. "I suppose I _should_ be more careful. But seriously, how do I keep my chakra from disappearing?"

"You'll just have to practice," he said, "You can't learn this jutsu overnight. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure if you'll be able to learn all this in a week, but that's not my call, it's yours." He turned around, "I'm going—got to do research, you practice that and try to master it by the time I get back, okay?"

"Sure," I called out before returning my concentration back to my training. I _will_ do this.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The image shuddered and splintered many times as the little bug moved.

"Very interesting," Orochimaru said, grinning.

"What is, my Lord?" Kabuto asked, as his eyes flickered from the video transmission to his master.

"That her chakra style is fire… how… _coincidental..._" his smile widened, "I can almost taste the—"

"Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto interjected, "I still don't understand why we can't just abduct her, you do realize how easy it would be right now—that Toad Sannin is so easily distracted that…" he was silenced by a sudden glare from the snake.

"Kabuto, Kabuto," Orochimaru sighed, "Why won't you understand? There's nothing to gain from kidnapping her. I want her to my prize."

"You want Sasuke to bring her," Kabuto said, "I understand that, you know that if you force her to come that you will become one of Sasuke's enemies, but if you have Sasuke bring her than it will be killing two birds with one stone."

"I don't want her yet," he said, "I need her to stay in the Leaf Village a little longer—I need her to get closer to Sasuke a little more…"

"Then why are you permitting her to become so close with the Nine Tails?" Kabuto asked.

Orochimaru turned towards him with a raised eyebrow. "That pest is, I hate to say it, a very good asset in my triumph over Sasuke. Not only is he getting stronger, causing Sasuke to feel panicked about his own growth in strength, but they are rivals, making Sasuke infuriated that Naruto might become stronger. And the girl is becoming more attached to Naruto than she is to Sasuke."

"You just said," Kabuto pointed out, "That you want her to get closer to Sasuke."

"Forgive my uncertainty." Orochimaru grinned, "What I meant to say was: Let Sasuke become more protective of her, more possessive, threatened that she might become farther away. To tell you the truth, I'm _glad_ that Naruto and she are getting closer, because not only is Naruto becoming stronger than Sasuke, but the woman Sasuke loves harbors stronger feelings for his rival than she does him. This journey that the Nine Tails and the girl are on have jumpstarted those feelings, that strong connection. They were close before but now they are closer than they ever had, so close, in fact, that it will most likely catch everyone back in their village by surprise, and none other than Sasuke."

"You really are cruel," Kabuto smirked, "To play with your prizes like toys."

"You exaggerate," Orochimaru leered, "I'm just playing the game."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I can't do this…" I withered onto the ground. "It's so hard…" I glanced at my hands. They were stiff from holding the position of the seal for such a long time. I didn't even remove them from that position, for fear that I would forget what it looked like. "For Heaven's sake," I muttered, "Why can't I just get a simple jutsu down?"

It can't just be that I'm trying to master it within a few days, I mean, I'm older than most people learning this, so that should be in my favor. I know that there was something wrong with my chakra earlier, but that too… I mean, _way_ earlier… What was it that Jiraiya said?

For some reason he needed to seal my chakra, for _some_ reason… and because of that, from my point of view, I'm having even _more_ trouble controlling my chakra… sheesh… I stared at my hands again. I suppose I should just do what Naruto is doing, and never give up. My eyes trailed up to see him, exhausted, but somehow still moving. That's right! I used my legs to push myself back up, "I won't give up!"

I closed my eyes and concentrated on my chakra. _Please_… I whispered inwardly, _come on…_ I felt the build up, and then, felt it slowly beginning to drain away. Crap. I gathered all the energy I could muster and worked on keeping all the chakra in as I could. _Come on!_ I shouted in my thoughts. I opened my eyes in surprise as I felt a surge, but this time it didn't go away. I looked down at my feet and saw a light purple glow around them. Is that… the color of my chakra? Interesting… how…

I let out a shriek as my concentration slipped and I felt as though someone set off a bomb just under my skin. "Ow…" I whispered, holding onto my arms with the opposite hands, "That hurt…"

"What happened?" Naruto shouted as he rushed over, "I saw you collapsed—You look burned, did something happen?"

"Nothing…" I said, "I just lost control of my chakra…"

"Aha!" Naruto laughed, "That used to happen to me all the time too!"

"Really?" I asked, standing up shakily, "What did you do to stop it?"

"Well," he shrugged, "Iruka-sensei used to always hit me over the head whenever I was doing it wrong…and Kakashi-sensei would just let me do whatever until I figured it out on my own…"

Those two… I thought. "Anyway," I said, "How's your training going?"

He immediately scowled with irritation. "I still can't do it," he muttered, "You having any luck?"

"Does it _look_ like I'm having luck?" I snapped. Then I sighed, "Look at us," I grinned, "Why don't we try even harder—after all, we are racing!"

He grinned back, showing his sharper than average canine. Strange… I poked playfully at his whiskers before shooing him off to his own training. Right. I've got to train harder… I built up the chakra, and worked as hard as I could at concentrating and keeping it inside. I let out another yell as the heat washed over me again, prickling my senses and making me feel yet again as if I were burned. "Jiraiya said this couldn't hurt!" I muttered. Although he _did_ saw it _shouldn't_ hurt but still!

Maybe my pain tolerance is lower than average…

I wouldn't be surprised.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOoOooOoOoooOoOo

"I did it!" I said, opening my eyes and staring down. There was the purple glow shimmer but not diminish. I slowly released the chakra and it completely disappeared, but it was more like it sank back into me, and there was no burning feeling. "Well, that's a relief," I said, "Looks like I can finally do it!" I looked up at the sky and saw that it was getting dark. "Hey!" I shouted at Naruto, "The sun's setting, let's go back!"

"No!" he responded with equal volume, so I could hear him, "I'm going to stay out here training!"

That crazy kid… I knew better than to say anymore—once his mind is made up there's nothing anyone can do. A lot of people from the Leaf Village are like that… I shook my head in amusement and headed back for the hotel. I wonder if Shizune is still there—maybe we can got out to eat or something, since Naruto is probably going to end up sleeping out there.

"Hello?" I called as I knocked on the door. There was a moment's silence, before I knocked again, a little louder.

"Hello?" Shizune opened the door with a hesitant look on her face, "Oh, Grace, it's you." She said, "Do you need something?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat," I suggested, smiling, "Are you busy?"

She glanced back into the room and then turned towards me again, "Lady Tsunade is out for a while—so sure, why not?"

Once we arrived at the restaurant, we ordered our food and I was quite impressed with the speed in which they served it. "Thank you so much for inviting me," Shizune smiled.

"No prob," I said, "I'm looking forward to it—Naruto is out training, I doubt he'll be back until he finishes the technique, and who knows where Jiraiya is—not that I want to go out to eat with him anyway. He'd probably just want to go out so he can say we're on a date…" I scowled irritably, "Seriously, that man can _piss_ me _off_."

She giggled quietly, "You like him a lot, don't you?"

"Huh?" My mouth opened, noodles hanging from it like one of those gag moments in comedy anime, "_Like_ him?"

"No, no, not in _that_ way," Shizune laughed, "I mean, like a brother—or father—someone close," she said, "Family."

"If he's my 'father' here I'm severally creeped out by family life in this land," I muttered.

She smiled into her tea, "I disagree," she said, " I think he and you—and Naruto—are all like family."

"Hmm…" I paused and swallowed, then gazed at the ceiling, "I suppose you're right. I _do _think of Naruto as family, and when I think of it, Jiraiya and I certainly act like family, and I suppose I do think of him as family as well… Konohamaru is literally my family, and Asuma-sensei is also literally my family now… and Sakura and Tenten are like my sisters…"

"And what of Sasuke?" She asked.

"Sasuke?" I said, surprised, "I… I don't know. I used to think of him as a brother."

She blinked, "You _used_ to think of him as a brother?" she asked, confused.

"Yes…" I said, slowly, "But now I'm not sure."

"What are you not sure about?"

"Whether he's like my family or not. He's… _different_ now. Somehow."

"How you feel towards him?"

"How he feels towards me." I said, surprising myself, "He's different in how he acts towards me. I feel like no matter what I do I always anger him, and I don't mean it—I don't want to anger him, quite the opposite, I want to please him, I want him to be proud of me! But for some reason I just always make him mad—he's always mad at me and I don't know why."

"Could it be because you don't understand his feelings?"

"I doubt it," I said, "That might make him exasperated but I doubt that it would make him angry. I think it's because… the darkness in his—what?" I stopped short, "What do you mean I don't understand his feelings?"

She stared at me, "But you answered the question," she said, confused, "You said that you doubted that because it would only make him exasperated. How can you answer the question but not understand what the question was asking?"

"I…" I began, "I just answered automatically, "I wasn't paying attention to what you were asking…"

That _was_ true, I didn't understand at all what I was answering… and yet, I knew how to answer it, like she said. I know that the answer was 'exasperation' but I don't understand why he would be exasperated… I feel like there's a mental block, a large brick wall in my brain and the answer to my question is on the other side but I just can't seem to reach it.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tsunade peered around the rock bend, watching with growing agitation as the blond boy continued to train. _Why the hell doesn't he give up_? She thought, _he'll never master that technique in time_.

She sighed and turned around, throwing one last glare at the boy before continuing on. "Now," she said, "I need to get this off my mind…" she continued to walk back to the village, heading for one of the gambling dens that she's had her eye on.

"_Two sacrifices…"_

She stopped short as Orochimaru's voice echoed through her mind. Two sacrifices… she'd had to bring them in order for the jutsu to become complete… and in order to succeed, she'd have to heal his arms… but what of the girl? She knew, Tsunade _knew_ she knew, of these plans… but how… Jiriaya mentioned that this girl was different…

She broke out in a cold sweat as she glanced at her hand, remember how, earlier that day, she had healed the girl from the genjutsu… the first medical ninjutsu she had performed in… how long? But still… there was something about that girl that wasn't normal… it wasn't just that her chakra was…different. Everything about her was different, like she had a different make up, like she was born in a different time.

"Like she was a different kind of human," she murmured out loud. It was as if she weren't the same as anyone else. Orochimaru would be pleased with her, she knew. Perhaps that's what she can do. Orochimaru can have Jiraiya and Naruto as the sacrifices, and Grace can be his prize.

That way she's out of the way… there will be no evidence of her betrayal.

And Orochimaru can tell—if he hasn't already. She knew Orochimaru already had his eyes on the girl, from what Jiraiya had told her… but still. She wasn't sure if Orochimaru knew of her… inhumanity, if that's what one could call it. The irregularity of her make-up… "I'm sure he'd be curious of this," She said, disgusted despite herself, "I'm sure he'll be _fascinated_."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_To be continued_…

**Quote:** "Damn it! I'm like the walking talking robot in which they forgot to program common sense!" - Grace

Ah… finished… This is the end of this chapter, the next chapter will be out soon! I'm going through a marathon of writing to catch up to where I'm supposed to be! Oh, there will be three more chapters (at least) before the thanksgiving chapter.

Ok, so… anyway…

Hope you liked the chapter! And thanks for sticking with it this long! It's only because of my devoted readers that Truthspeaker has gone on as long as it has!

Stay tuned!

fUnKyToEs


	56. The Fifth Hokage: Part XVII: Final

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: The Fifth Hokage: Part XVII: Final

WORDS: 6, 897 words

DISCLAIMER: I do not own

BEFORE WORD: Yo! Yeah, I'm skipping the Thanksgiving chapter… I started it but I got too bored, and I thought that I'd rather not update something that was written with half effort and therefore worse than my usual chapters… XD so I decided to make this one extra long. (or at least longer than usual) Oh, and I'm not sure about how good this chapter is… I kind of got a little impatient with the Sannin fight (you'll see)

Oh, and the extraordinarily long flashback at the beginning is for people who might have forgotten it. I'm not trying to add more words by copying and pasting from pervious chapters… I swear…

Hope you enjoy

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOOoOOoOOoOoOooo

_I blinked. _

_I saw light. _

_A ceiling. _

_One of those Florissant lights. The kind you see in hospitals and public buildings. The kind that are cheap, like the engineers had a low budget. The kind that gave you headaches._

_I decided to stop looking at the lights and look where the breeze was coming from. It was nice, but it confused me. Why was there a breeze? I don't see a window… ah, there it is. It's strange, everything is abstract. Colors are tighter, contrasted, and yet, everything is blurred, as if there isn't a definition of what reality is and what allusion is. I felt like I was drifting in and out of sleep, as if I wasn't really here, and yet I knew I was because I felt weighted. I also felt light._

_I sat up, and the weighted feeling disappeared. All that was left was a pulling sensation. I threw the covers off and hopped off the bed._

_I blinked as I stared at my feet. I was standing, and yet, the floor felt strange. It didn't feel like I __hit__ the floor, but more like I was floating just above the surface. In my disillusioned state this didn't seem like that much of a deal so I moved on. I took some more steps, ignoring the floating sensation till I reached the window. Staring out of it was like staring into a dream. Everything seemed so much lighter, everything seemed __white. _

_Soft. _

_Wavy. _

_Smooth. _

_Surreal. _

_Soundless. _

_Everything was quiet. I looked back at the bed and blinked again._

_There I was, lying in the bed. I came to the soft and funny realization that I __must be dreaming.__ It didn't shock me. I wasn't like 'oh my god I'm having an out of body experience'. It was like… oh, that must be it. I'm dreaming._

_I rested a hand on the window sill and was again tickled by the idea that I __wasn't actually touching it.__ Instead my hand was floating just above the surface. I smiled. This was fun. It was fun not worrying. Not having anything to think about. _

_Thoughtless. _

_I never thought it would be so nice. Not a worry. I couldn't even remember my name. What was my name? Where was I? It didn't matter. The me in the bed opened her eyes and sat up, rubbing them and yawning._

_I leaned out of the open window and looked down. I was on the second story. Smiling again, I leaned all the way out till my middle rested on the sill and half of me was inside and the rest hanging out. With one gentle push my entire body slid out the window and downwards. _

_This was fun. The pulling got a little stronger but pushed it to the back of my head. My feet softly touched the ground. This also wasn't strange. It seemed perfectly normal to float down from a second story and just land perfectly without any impact on the ground. _

_Smiling, I set off. I saw a swing and my attention were immediately diverted. I redirected my course and headed straight for the swing. _

_My__ swing. _

_I sat down and kicked off the ground. The swing shot backwards about as far as you can go on a swing and then swung forwards. It tickled me how I could see the swing sitting there. It was like I was sitting on the __thought__ of the swing._

_I hopped off, sailing through the air and then landed on my feet again. I walked, slowly, taking in my surroundings, till I came to stop in front of the hospital. There I am, walking out, a little dazed. Who are those little boys? There's a blond one and a dark haired one. The dark haired one looked around nine. _

_Konohamaru, I realized, that's his name. The blond one was laughing about something. _

_Naruto._

_Something was missing. I realized that it must be me, since I don't remember my name. Naruto was still laughing about something and then he waved and ran off. Konohamaru walked with the me that was not me until they got to a building, and I followed._

_Then he entered it. There was a slight murmur of yelling, which was strange since I wasn't able to hear anything before. Then the me that was not me kept walking until she saw another dark haired boy. She waved to him and he stopped and let her catch up with him. At this point I realized that this boy must be her friend, since they seemed to know each other. I followed them more closely. I couldn't hear what they were saying but whatever the me that was not me was saying it couldn't be very nice. I would have to talk to her about that. Then the me that was not me apologized and said something funny. _

_The dark haired boy smiled. The me that was not me continued to say whatever it was that she was saying and the boy kept looking at her smiling._

_Sasuke._

_I blinked._

_That was his name. He seemed perfectly familiar, as if I knew him all my life. I can't believe that I forgot who he was. He kept looking at the me that was not me with that look in his eyes. And the me outside the dream didn't see it, because she was looking in the other direction. _

_She didn't see it because she didn't know that it was ever there. _

_She never looked. _

_She never saw._

_She never saw that look in his eyes._

_But I did. Now, I see._

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Grace…"

"Graaaace…"

"Grace!"

"Stop talking!" I snapped, opening my eyes and glaring at Naruto, who was leaning over me and smiling brightly. Oh, it's just Naruto. "Hey," I said, sitting up and shaking my head, trying to clear the sleep from my brain. "What are you doing—what are you so happy about?"

That dream again… why can't I ever remember what the ending was like?

"What are you talking about?" Naruto yelped with disappointment at my lack of memory, "It's the day—it's the day!"

"The—oh!" I exclaimed, jumping up off the futon and smiling at him, "You mean _that_ day!" I can't believe that it's been a week since we made the bet with Tsunade.

"Yup!" he grinned, "The day I kick that old bat's ass!" He punched the air ferociously, chuckling like the little demon we all know he is.

"Don't talk aggressively," I said, frowning as I rubbed my eyes. "Hey, you're all better…."

He glanced down at his hands, and noted with keen interest that his scars and bruises from his training were gone. "Someone must have healed me," he said, shrugging, "I don't even remember coming in, I thought I fell asleep outside."

"Outside, huh?" I asked, "I wonder if Lady Tsunade brought you in… I didn't hear anything…" I rubbed my head, "But I am feeling a little…"

"Oh, Grace," Naruto said, sliding off the bed and pointing towards the back of the room, "Why is Shizune sleeping in your room?"

"Shizune…" I glanced towards where Naruto was pointing, and saw that Shizune was indeed lying on the floor… but there was something odd about her countenance, like she suddenly dropped and crumpled onto the floor. "Why is she…" My eyes widened, "Shizune!" I yelled out, running towards her and grabbing her shoulders, "Wake up—wake up!"

She blearily opened her eyes and stared at Naruto and I, confused, "Grace…" She murmured, "What's going on…?"

"Where's Lady Tsunade?" I asked her.

"Her eyes opened in a panic—"

"Don't narrate—this is serious," I snapped and Naruto meeped into silence. "Where's Lady Tsunade?" I repeated again.

"She's…" her eyes spun around the room, "What day is it?" she asked, her voice quaking.

"Tuesday," I said, "Why?"

"Oh no…" She whispered, "I have to get going!" she yelled, rushing for the window and throwing it open, "Naruto—Grace—stay inside!"

"Wha—where are you going?" I cried out as she went, "Don't leave—if you're thinking to protect Naruto and I that means—"

"I can't answer those questions—" Her words halted and she stared with disbelief at something off to the side, out of our sight.

"What are you looking at?" I asked, walking over and peering out the window, "Jiraiya!" I cried out in surprise.

"Old man!" Naruto yelled, "What the hell happened to you?"

Jiraiya stood, slumped against the wall, and he looked like… well, crap. He looked ill, like he was about to die. "Jiraiya!" I cried out again, leaning out the window, attempting to slide out and reaching for him, "What happened to you—come in! Shizune—do something!"

Shizune hopped out of the window and helped him sit against the side of the building. "What's wrong?" She asked, "What happened to you?"

After helping me climb out, Naruto and I rushed over.

"Tsunade… that damn woman put drugs in my sake… didn't see it coming…" He shivered slightly, and then said with a slur, "I can't use any jutsu, and my chakra is irregular—not to mention my body feels like I stepped on a wasp hive."

I cringed, "Tsunade did this?" I turned towards Shizune, "Does that mean…?"

She nodded, "I'm afraid so…" she looked down at her feet, "I'm… I should have stopped her… but she…"

"I understand." I said, "You tried, I'm sure, that's all that matters."

She smiled at me. "I found Naruto when he was training—after he collapsed, and brought him back to the hotel, and Tsunade and I conversed there… she healed him, slightly, and then left for… Orochimaru."

Naruto's eyes widened with shock, and then narrowed with anger, "Why—how—?"

"I thought that might be the case," Jiraiya muttered, "Damn… And I can't fight with my body like this too…"

"When she left, I confronted her—I told her it wasn't a good idea—that she should turn back… but she knocked me out. I assume that's when she left." Shizune ended.

"I bet this was after she drugged me," Jiraiya noted, "This means…" he trailed off, glancing at his hands, before glancing up at the building in front of him.

"What is it?" I asked, turning as well, but as expected I saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"I thought I saw…" Jiraiya frowned, "Shizune, what is Jiraiya planning?"

He asked Shizune but he was looking at me.

"I—" We both began, before looking at each other in mutual hesitation.

"You go," I said.

"No… I think you understand more than I of what's actually going on," she said.

"Alright." I took a deep breath, "From what I remember, Tsuande is going to heal Orochimaru's arms… in exchange for him to bring her two beloved's back to life. However, there's a catch. She needs two sacrifices." I looked at Jiraiya and Naruto for a deliberately long time.

"Damn…" Jiraiya muttered, "To get caught up like this…"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, confused, "What kind of sacrifices?"

We landed in the middle of the rumble, staring about, searching for forms of life that may be Orochimaru or Tsunade.

"No one's here," Jiraiya sighed. He held my arms in his hands, keeping me taunt against his back, my legs wrapped around his waist in piggy back mode.

"What happened here?" Naruto asked, glancing around widely.

"Are you sure I'm not too heavy to carry in your condition?" I asked Jiraiya worriedly.

He grinned tiredly, "You're light," he said, "Besides, it's nice have you nice to me."

I didn't even feel like arguing with him, "Just let me know if I'm too heavy," I repeated.

"Got it, got it…" he grinned, "Tsunade must have exploded… look at this…!"

Shizune let out a sigh of relief, "This means… she declined the offer." She said.

"Well that's good," Naruto muttered, "Now all we have to do is go beat up that Orochimaru bastard for what he did to Sasuke!"

"Yeah!" I cheered, although my heart wasn't in it.

"Let's go," Jiraiya said, "We should hurry anyway, and make sure we're not—" he stopped abruptly to watch Tonton sniff at the ground.

"She has a lead!" Shizune shouted, "We're getting close!"

"Still," Naruto repeated, "What happened here?"

"Most likely," I noted, "They left this place to go to the large clearing."

"Large clearing?" Naruto asked.

"Hold on tight," Jiraiya said, "I'm going to jump!"

He and Shizune jumped into the air, following Tonton as the little pig flew through the air, her nose sniffing out the rout. Naruto shouted and quickly followed.

"How much longer!?" I shouted so that Jiraiya could hear me.

"Not far, I think," he said, "I wish you didn't have to come but… we can't let you out of our sight."

That makes sense. Most likely, if someone was going to kidnap me, I could just be taken when Jiraiya and Shizune are preoccupied with Orochimaru and Tsunade… and Naruto wouldn't stand for being left behind, even if it was to protect me. I hated being the fifth wheel. But I always am. I'm completely helpless…

If I was a powerful ninja… then I can help but the only thing I know how to do is—

"Jiraiya!" I shouted, "When we get there, what will I do?"

"Don't worry," Jiraiya shouted back, "When we reach Tsunade, I'll be on the offensive and fight Orochimaru and Tsunade, and Shizune and Naruto will be on the defensive and protect you."

"Are you sure?" I shouted, "That seems like it's a waste of Shizune's strength!"

"We have no choice." He said. "There's nothing we can do. I shouldn't have brought you along—I'm sorry you've been caught up like this."

I tightened my arms around his neck, brining my head closer. "It's ok," I said, "I know you didn't mean any harm…" There was a large explosion up ahead. "Is that… That is…" I stared. A huge slug blocked out the sky a little ways ahead, visible above the tree line. Ahead of it, a large snake "Those are…"

"It's Katsuyu!" Shizune shouted.

"And it looks like Orochimaru has summoned Manda," Jiraiya said, "Looks like Tsunade didn't accept his offer if they're fighting like this."

"But this doesn't make any sense!" Shizune said, wide eyed, "Lady Tsunade…to be fighting like this… it's impossible!"

"Trust me," I muttered, "Nothing is impossible."

Kabuto shifted slightly to the right, behind Orochimaru. His left shoulder twitched.

There.

They were here.

He shrugged off the pain from fighting hand to hand with Tsunade and crouched. "They're here." He said, quietly.

"I know." Orochimaru said. "I'll occupy Tsunade, and most likely Jiraiya will try to back her up. I want you to take the offensive against the girl."

"What about the nine-tails and the woman?"

"Kill them if necessary. Well, don't kill the boy. We still need him alive."

"Understood." He made a hand seal and disappeared. Reappearing behind the party, hidden by the tree line. _I have to wait till Jiraiya leaves. _

"Shit," He heard Jiraiya muttered, "This is more serious than I thought, Shizune, Naruto, watch over Grace."

"Right!" Naruto shouted, saluting him, "Will do!"

"I'm going!" Jiraiya flashed out of site and then farther away, towards the giant beasts and their masters. There was a puff of smoke, and then suddenly a large toad appeared, joining its foes.

_Now's my chance_. He leapt forward.

Shizune twitched and then spun around, her face covered in shock. She quickly recovered threw a kunai.

He dodged it with ease, flipping horizontally in midair, and landing on his feet, crouching low in one movement and kicking off again.

"Naruto!" Shizune shouted a warning. Naruto looked around, but too late, his reflexes weren't good enough.

Kabuto landed on his hands a few feet away from him, then spun on his hands, catching Naruto multiple times under his chin with his feet, sending the boy flying in a spiral.

He propelled himself with his hands and landed on his feet and sprinting towards the girl. Shizune appeared before him, lifting her sleeve, revealing the sling shots attaching to her arm guard.

"I won't fall for that again!" Kabuto shouted, disappearing from her sight, then behind me, chakra forming around his hand, as he lightly punched her in the small of her back. Shizune slumped onto the ground.

The girl shrieked and fell backwards, landing on her butt and scooted as far away from him as possible.

He turned around, slowly now. There was no need to rush, her guards were both unconscious. "We meet again, Grace."

"K—Kabuto!" She said, "What are you…"

He walked over to her with slow, steady steps. He knew she wouldn't run. It would be futile. She knew she couldn't outrun or outwit a ninja. He crouched so they were both at eye level. "I have to do a quick little test, so stay still."

"What are you doing to do?" She asked, her voice shaking.

He smiled, and lifted a hand to stroke her cheek. She flinched away from his touch. "I can see why Sasuke is attracted to you. You are indeed—"

His neck snapped to the side as her hand collided with his cheek.

"Don't _ever_ mentioned Sasuke's name you worthless piece of shit!" she hissed.

He touched his cheek, it was red. _Impossible_, he thought, _this strength. It was no extraordinary punch, but there is no away a simple civilian could have—could it be that inadvertently… during her training… without her even realizing it…_ "Sorry," he said, "But I'm afraid the whole reason this is happening is because of Sasuke—Tsunade too, and of course, yourself."

He eyes widened. "Me…?" she asked.

"You didn't know?" He raised an eyebrow, "You're the decoy, of course, the _bait,_ as Orochimaru calls it. He needs you, and I think…" he glanced down at her chest, "I think you'll need him too."

She covered her chest protectively, "What are you talking—"

"Just stay still," he said, taking out a needle from his pouch, "This is a simple procedure. I wish I could say it was painless, but I don't like to lie."

"What are you doing to do to me?" she asked, eyeing the needle with fright. And why shouldn't she? A needle of that length with a width of that diameter was quite formidable.

"Just a simple procedure." He repeated, "I need you to lift up you're kimono."

"What?" She said, paling and scooting a little farther away from him, "Just where do you think you're going to stick that?"

He sighed. "I'm testing you—"

Her eyes widened as he flashed out her sight. Naruto landed in front of her, "Are you ok, Grace?" he asked, rubbing his neck. "Shizune looks like she might be coming around, too. That took me by surprise, seeing him here." He looked somewhere past her. "Hey! Four eyes! Come out already and let me kick your ass!"

Grace reached out and grabbed him by his shirt. "Naruto…" she whispered. "Don't let him hurt me…"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"He's trying to hurt me," she whispered, "Don't let him hurt me!"

His eyebrows furrowed, his eyes turning dark, "Grace," he said, "You should know by now that anyone who even thinks about hurting you has got to answer to me! Anyone who hurts you will get their ass kicked! I will protect you always! That's my ninja word!"

She smiled and let go. "Thank you." She whispered.

Shizune sat up, shaking. "That technique…" she said, staring at her hands, "My nerves…" She stood up and took a step towards Grace, but fell forwards. "Damn…" _My legs aren't functioned right yet… how much longer till I can fight again?!_

"Oi!" Naruto shouted, "Come on, Kabuto!"

Kabuto shifted from his position in the trees. _The pesky little brat. It would be so much simpler if I could just kill him. But Orochimaru needs him alive… _he narrowed his eyes. _I'll just have to have no mercy. I can't kill him but that doesn't mean that I can't bring him close to death…_ he glanced towards the struggling Shizune_. Not to mention there are two skilled medical ninja here. That should suffice to anything I might do, as long as I don't actually succeed in killing him. _He spat, and jumped up, spinning in air, and landing a little ways from Naruto. "Long time no see," he said, grinning, "How have you been, Naruto?"

"Don't give me that crap!" Naruto shouted, "You tried to hurt Grace and now you're gonna' pay!"

Kabuto shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands in a compromising pose, "Let's look at the pros and cons here, Naruto, all I have to do is a quick procedure…" he took a different needle out from his pouch, the previous one having been dropped with Naruto attempted an attack, "All I have to do is insert this needle, take a little blood so I can do tests, and that's _all_. Then I'll leave and leave Grace alone. I promise."

"I don't know…" Naruto muttered, "That needle looks like it'd be painful."

Kabuto shrugged, "I'd be lying if I said that it wouldn't hurt."

"Why couldn't you just use a smaller needle?" Naruto asked, but his stance told Kabuto he wasn't letting down his guard.

"It's a very special procedure." Kabuto explained, "I wouldn't expect a simpleton like you to understand it."

"What are you testing?" Grace spoke up. "What are you trying to figure out?"

Kabuto raised an eyebrow, "Do you really want to know? I'm trying to figure out what you're DNA is compatible with."

"What it is compatible with?" She asked, confused.

"People with Kekkei Genkai have special DNA. It's almost like a mutation. That DNA, when mixed with DNA of the same strain, deepens the mutation, creating a stronger Kekkei Genkai. When mixed with the DNA of a different mutation, it mutates unto itself and creates a different Kekkei Genkai, and if done enough, it creates a new brand of Kekkei Genkai. However, if mixed with normal DNA, the Kekkei Genkai becomes weaker. It may not be visibly weaker, but after a enough generations, it may even thin out so much that the Kekkei Genkai disappears entirely, with only a few outbreaks every few generations."

"So what does this have to do with me?" Grace asked.

"I'm testing to see if you're DNA would dilute the Uchihas' Kekkei Genkai, or whether it would strengthen it."

"Why the Uchiha?" She asked, "Does this have something to do with Sasuke?"

"It has everything to do with Sasuke," Kabuto sighed. _This girl is a simpleton. She seems entirely oblivious to her own situation_. _No wonder she is so easy to manipulate._ "All in all Orochimaru wants to see if your children with Sasuke will have a stronger Kekkei Genkai or weaker Kekkei Genkai."

"Whoa," Naruto said, his brain spinning.

Grace's face turned a dark red, "But I'm not pregnant." She said.

"I know that," he sighed, "I'm talking about the future."

"But—" her eyes widened, "Ooh—I get what you're talking about…" she stood up, a defiant look on her face, "Orochimaru is planning on creating more vessels!"

"You're not as stupid as I thought," Kabuto said, "You might actually have good head on your shoulders."

"Well," she said, somewhat defensively, "You're madly mistaken. There's no way Sasuke would want to have children with me!"

"I take back what I just said," Kabuto muttered, "You're retarded. Look," he said, louder, "You don't have to conceive with Sasuke for—"

"Enough of this!" Naruto shouted, "I don't care what your motives are! I'm still going to kick your ass!" he charged.

Kabuto sighed and easily dodged his kick. "You won't beat me if you use pathetic kicks like that!"

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled, swinging up his arm.

Kabuto intercepted and grabbed it, twisting it around behind Naruto's back, then chakra formed around his hand and he laid the hand on Naruto's neck, then let go and watched as Naruto slumped to the ground.

Grace yelled his name and attempted to cross over to where they are.

Naruto, shakily, got to his knees, then to his feet.

_Impossible!_ Kabuto thought, _How can he recover so fast? That's… is it the power of the nine-tailed fox?!_ Kabuto kicked Naruto hard in the stomach, sending him flying.

Naruto landed not too far from Grace, and she rushed over and lifted his head up, "Naruto!" She shouted, "Naruto are you alright? Naruto, talk to me!"

He shuddered and opened his eyes. "This guy is really starting to piss me off!" he muttered, "I'm going to use my new jutsu."

"You mean… you mean rasengan?" Grace asked, "Are you sure?"

He nodded, "I'm sure," he said, "I'm a hella sure that I can do it—after all, what have I been doing all this time that I can't even use it when I need it? Besides, I'm going to prove to that old bat that I can master that jutsu!"

Naruto stood up, Grace helping him, "Stay back," he said, "I don't want you to get hurt. You're not strong enough to fight, you'll just get in the way."

Grace didn't object, she backed up so she was away, then sat down.

Naruto growled and took a fighting stand. "Shadow clone jutsu!" A clone appeared next to him. Together, they began gathering chakra in the original Naruto's hand.

_That's_… Kabuto thought, _Could it be…?_

"RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted. A large swarm of chakra forming in his hand. He shouted and charged, the clone disappearing in smoke.

Kabuto crouched, then jumped at the right moment, dodged Naruto's attack. Naruto shouted in surprise and crash landed into the ground, creating a crater.

"The hell…" Naruto muttered, pushing himself to his feet, "Why the hell did you dodge?"

"What did you think I'd do?" Kabuto muttered, "Stand still and let you kill me?"

Naruto scowled, "Second round!"

"Christ's sake, just stop it," Kabuto growled, "You're really starting to piss me off."

Naruto grinned, "That's my job!" He grabbed two kunai and threw them towards Kabuto, then threw two more. Kabuto dodged the first two, and then clicked his tongue. _I'll have to block the next two_, He thought. He lifted his kunai and prepared to block it, then narrowed his eyes.

The two kunai turned into clones, "Gotch ya'!" they grabbed onto Kabuto and held him still, "Now you can't dodge!"

_Damn_! Kabuto thought.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto yelled again, charging towards Kabuto.

_I've got to create a barrier! _Kabuto panicked. _I have to decrease the impact!_

Naruto collided with Kabuto, creating an explosion.

"Damn!" Naruto shouted, "I just nicked him!"

Kabuto landed a few meters away, and then fell backwards, breathing hard. Even though he managed to dodge the final attack, the little that did hit him looked like it had quite the impact. "Damn…" he muttered again, spitting out blood. "I've got to finish this."

"Ahh!" Naruto shouted as he attacked again, not bothering with the Rasengan. He pivoted on his left foot, swinging up on his right, aiming for Kabuto's head.

"Huh?" he said out loud as Kabuto disappeared. He appeared standing in front of him, the flash of visibility to confuse Naruto, and chakra swarmed around his arm, hardening to create a scalpel of flesh.

There was a squishing sound as he brought the arm out of Naruto's chest. Naruto's eyes went blank and he fell forward.

"What a little pest. Sorry, Orochimaru, looks like I wasn't patient enough." He sighed and staggered forward, then stood up straight and walked towards Grace.

Grace sat there, shaking, a silent scream lodged deep in her throat. She sounded like she was choking, hyperventilating to the point where Kabuto was sure she would soon pass out.

"Look," Kabuto muttered as he crouched down. Her eyes, as if drunk, blearily rolled towards him, as if noticing him for the first time.

"Y—Y—You—you…" she choked.

"I was careful," he said, "I didn't actually puncture him. I merely forced him to start going into cardiac arrest. It'll be slow. He has ten minutes before it becomes critical. Most likely Tsunade's assistant will be able to stabilize him till Tsunade is free. It's not my intention to kill him, you see."

She inhaled, her throat clogged with sobs. "Don't… what… you…"

"I just want to do this procedure then we can be through." _This girl isn't worth the trouble._

She shook her head and, her body convulsing, backed away from him, "Don't come near me…" she gagged, "Don't…" she elapsed into tears. "I hate you…" she whispered, her voice was soar, "I hate you…" she was shaking.

_Amazing_… Kabuto thought. _She's beyond tears now, beyond screaming. This boy must be important to her for her to be in such shock. _"Too bad for you I could care less." He lifted his hand and backhanded her cheek. She gasped and fell on her side. The pain was a wakeup call. She looked around wildly, and then struggled to her hands and knees, attempting as fast as she could to crawl away from him.

"You're not getting away," He growled, jumping forward and grabbing her back, pushing her onto the ground, "You seem to have a habit of causing trouble." He sneered. "Now, just let me do the procedure and I'll let you be. Do you understand that? _I won't hurt you anymore_."

"No!" She shouted, attempting to kick him, "I won't let you! Stop it!" her foot made contact.

"Little bitch," he muttered under his breath, "That's it." He grabbed her, pushed her down again, and grabbed the bottom of her kimono, "I'm not going to be gentle," he growled, "I'm not reasoning, anymore."

"Stop!" she shouted, "Jiraiya! Jiraiya!"

He pulled up her kimono, prepared the needle and syringe in record time, and then brought down the needle into her upper back thigh. She screamed in pain. He brought the lever back the drew the blood.

She gasped and then said, "Why the hell does it have to be there? And why does the needle have to be so big…?" Her eyes were closed.

"Because I felt like it," he said.

He removed the needle and swabbed the spot with an alcohol wipe, then put a bandage on it. "There," he said, "All done."

"You bastard," she whispered, "I swear to God…"

"What are you going to do about it, eh?" he said, stroking the spot where the needle injected her, "Now, be a good girl and go to sleep."

"What did you do…" she said, her voice slurring.

"Nothing," he purred, "Good night…"

Her eyes drooped closed.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I opened my eyes and turned my head. Tsunade was performing CPR on Naruto. "Naruto…" I whispered. "Naruto!" I scrambled to my knees.

"Stay still," Jiraiya said, "Don't push yourself."

I turned and looked at Jiraiya, "What happened?" I asked, "Where is Orochimaru?"

"He retreated," Jiraiya said, "You don't have anything to worry about anymore." He laid a hand on my forehead, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," I said, sitting up, "I'm not hurt." I tried to stand up. "Naruto is…"

"Don't." Jiraiya said, "Don't push yourself."

"I'm fine." I said, "Naruto—"

"Don't," Jiraiya said, "Naruto's fine, don't get in Tsunade's way."

"But Naruto—"

"Grace!" Jiraiya shouted, getting my attention.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Just—what did he do to you?"

"What? Kabuto…" I looked down at my hands, "He just drew some blood."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Grace," he said, sternly, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him, "What happened?"

I looked into his eye, "He drew some blood," I said. "That's all."

"Alright," he relented, "Did he tell you what he wanted your blood for? What tests?"

"He wanted to test my DNA—I think…" I said, "To see if my blood was compatible with Sasuke's…"

"For more vessels." He said, his eyebrows furrowing.

I nodded.

He put a hand on my head, scuffing my hair softly, "I'm sorry, kiddo," he said, "I should have calculated it better. I shouldn't have protected you."

I smiled, "It's not your fault, Jiraiya."

"You called my name."

"You were busy."

"That's no excuse."

I sighed, "Look, what's happened has happened. I'm not hurt in any other way. And who knows, maybe they'll find out something…" my eyes trailed to Naruto, "Please bring me to him."

"Of course." He lifted me up and carried me over.

"I didn't mean for you to actually carry me," I muttered, "I can walk."

"What are you talking about," Jiraiya said, "I like carrying you—this kimono is thin so I can feel you're—"

I smacked his face and hopped down, "You pervert," I muttered, "I suppose you'll never change."

I looked down at Naruto. "Is he going to be alright?" I asked.

Tsunade was breathing heavily, "Yes," she said, "He's going to be alright."

"Good," I crouched, and poked his face, "Wake up sleepyhead."

He opened his eyes and looked at me, "Hey, Grace," Naruto said, "You're ok… see? I told you…"

"Naruto," Jiraiya said, "Grace was—"

"Don't." I said, "It didn't happen."

"Wha—ok…" Jiraiya said, "Whatever you say."

"Naruto," I said, putting my hand on his, "Let's go home."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I can't believe I missed the whole fight!" I moaned, "This is horrible! The most epic battle and I totally missed it!"

"Look," Tsunade muttered as she sipped her sake, "Stop groaning already, it's getting on my nerves."

"Oh stop it," I muttered, "You should just be thankful that you changed your mind, you have no idea how pissed I would have been if you went ahead and healed Orochimaru's arms."

"Oh _please_," she said, "I had no intention of healing his arms."

"Oh really?" I said, raising an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

"That is so," she said, her tone matching mine.

We glared at each other and then burst out laughing.

"Since when were they such good friends?" Naruto muttered, staring with a little fear from the next table.

"It happened on the way back from the battle field yesterday," Shizune said, "The two got to talking, and well, now they're best buddies."

"Sucks for me…" Jiraiya muttered, "Now it's me against the world."

"The world?" Naruto asked.

"No… more like me against the _devil_… in the form of two, hot, sexy and temperamental woman… Satan's mistresses." He shuddered.

"We heard that!" Said two shouted.

He cringed.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I'm getting déjà-vu," I muttered.

"You're telling me." Jiraiya muttered back.

"Alright you big old boob-sagging melon smuggler!" Naruto shouted, "I'm going to kick your ass!"

"This again?" Tsunade rolled her eyes, "You want me teach you a lesson… _again?"_

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted, "I worked my ass off to learn that jutsu! And I have! You saw me! So now suck up and keep your end of your bargain!"

"And that would be?" she asked.

"You become Hokage, just like Jiraiya wanted, and you give me that necklace!"

She smirked, "Come at me with everything you got and we'll see if that'll work!"

"Fine!" Naruto grinned, "Can't wait!" he charged, bellowing a battle cry.

I sighed, I already knew what was going to happen.

Tsunade flipped off Naruto's head protector with her finger, and then laid a kiss on his forehead.

"Wow," I said, "Just like I remember it."

Jiraiya sent me a sideways glance, "And now the necklace," I said, grinning.

"What about yourself?" he asked, raising an expectant eyebrow.

"I didn't master my technique," I sniffed.

"You didn't _want_ to," Jiraiya said, "You embarrassed?" he pouted, "I really wanted to see you perform that jutsu…"

"Maybe," I sniffed again.

"What about never talking to Sasuke again?"

"Oh, Tsunade and I have already sorted that out."

"Oh? And what's the new deal?"

I blushed, "I have to…"

"Oooh," Jiraiya said, "How exciting…"

"Stop it—you don't even know what it is!"

"But I have this _beautiful_ thing called, my _imagination_," Jiraiya said, "Oh, what a great plot twist for the book…"

"I hate you—you know that? I really hate you…"

"Glad to hear it—"

"What?" I heard Tsunade say, shocked.

"You heard me, I want you to give that necklace to Grace." Naruto said.

"What?" I said, my head spinning towards them, "What are you talking about?" I walked over to them, "What are you talking about?" I repeated.

"I want you to have the necklace," Naruto said, "As a memento."

"Of what?" I asked, confused.

"That we'll always be there for each other, and we'll always work hard to protect the village—and also as a reminder that I'll always protect you." He smiled, "Because we're best friends, right?"

I smiled, "Right."

I fingered the necklace with care, "I can't believe this," I said, "it's so beautiful, thanks again," I said to Tsunade.

She shrugged, "I don't actually mind—I think it suits you."

I grinned, "Thanks."

"Well," Jiraiya said, "Tsunade, Shizune and I will be heading back to the village—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it right there," I said, slashing the air with my hand, "What are you talking about? Who is missing from that statement?"

"Oh," Jiraiya said, grinning, "Forgot to tell you, you and Naruto will be completing you're mission."

"Mission?" Naruto and I echoed.

There was a moment of silence.

"Oh my God!" I shrieked, "I totally forgot about that?! How can this be?!"

"You really are a simpleton," Jiraiya muttered, "To think that you'd…"

"Then, then—Naruto and I can't do the mission by ourselves though," I said, "So is the Village replacing you with a different ninja?"

"YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!"

"Oh God…" I muttered, recognizing that voice anywhere.

"TO THINK THAT THE POWER OF YOUTH HAS LED ME HERE!"

"Please… oh God… _please_ don't tell me _he's_…"

Guy-sensei appeared in front of us, laughing in that hysterical way, "Well, well, how have you been my beloved little blooming flower?"

"Don't call me that," I snapped.

"Lady Tsuande," he said, turning to Tsunade, totally ignoring my request, "When you return… could you take a look at Lee for me?"

"Lee?" Tsanade said, confused, "I suppose so." I don't think she even knew who Lee was.

"Good!" A tragic look crossed Guy's face. "I cannot believe they would send me out on a mission when the woman who will be able to heal my beloved student is returning home… the irony… that being said," he gave Naruto and I the thumbs up, "We will complete this mission as fast as possible!"

"Just the three of us?" I asked.

"Four of us, actually."

"That voice—Neji!" I exclaimed, turning around, "You're on the mission as well?"

"That's correct," he said, crossing his arms, "It's not what I would like to be doing with my time but I'm afraid that the other members of my team are momentarily occupied, so this was my only option."

"If you're so against spending time with us why'd you come in the first place…?" I muttered. "Ignoring Mr. Ballet Shoes, so you guys know what our mission is?"

"Of course we know," Guy said, "Escort you to the Castle of Hirajaki, where the Fire Lord's niece is supposedly arriving, make a big show of it, then disappear and return home."

"Yes," I said.

"The princess is already there, this is just a decoy—a placebo of love!"

"You're going too far," I said.

"Do I have to go?" Naruto whined, "I don't want to be stuck with Guy-sensei and Neji."

I grabbed his shoulder, "Don't…. Leave. Me. Alone with these two…" I said, my face dark, "Or I will hurt you."

He gulped, "Right, of course I'm coming! I wouldn't have thought twice about it!"

"Good," I grinned, "When can we get started?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooooOoOooo

_To be continued…_

HaHA!… you thought she'd go straight back to the village and do *beep* to Sasuke, right?

Jk about the beep.

Well, you'll have to wait through two more chapters!

Don't worry, with Guy and Neji being in the picture… it'll be FLUFF galore!

Seriously, I don't think I'll be able to write a serious chapter with them!

Seriously…

Oh, and sorry to those who are like "Dude, Grace was so helpless and _Sakura-ish"_ well, what do you expect? She ain't a ninja, regrettably, and _I'd_ be a little scared of Kabuto wanting to stick a needle up my ass.

Well, anyway, Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter!

fUnKyToEs


	57. Cinderella: Part I

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: Cinderella: Part I

WORDS: 6, 543 words

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Naruto I wouldn't be writing fanfiction (I mean, duh!)

BEFOREWORD: The title says it all… sorry if this chapter's late. Teachers always crack the whip right before vacations….

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Your futile and pathetic attempt to perform a sneak attack on me has failed."

I pouted, "You know, you can _pretend_ not to be such a _poop_."

Neji turned around, gazing at me with those strange eyes, still walking in a perfect line. "Children are encouraged by such behavior."

"I'm older than you," I pointed out.

He turned to face the road ahead, "Let me rephrase myself. People with the _maturity level_ of children are encouraged—"

"I get it, I get it, you hate me, you hate me," I sighed, stretching, "Well, _I_ hate you too."

"Why do you hate her too?" Naruto asked.

"Why?" I answered, "Oh, too many reasons…Where would I begin?"

"Stop referring to me as a female," Neji snapped. "It's getting on my nerves."

"See?" I ignored him. "She's just so bitchy."

Naruto giggled as Neji's back stiffened. I wonder how much we can push him before he explodes? Actually, I'm not sure I want to see that… Actually, Naruto might die but I'll be safe. He can't hurt the person he's being paid to protect.

Right?

Then again… when he was training me that _too_ was a paid mission… "Hey Neji," I called, "Did you know that when I throw kunai I still throw it backwards?"

"I'm not surprised," he said stiffly.

"Did you also know," I said, "That your hair is really pretty?"

"Not this again…" he muttered.

Naruto snickered, "Man, this gets funnier by the second…"

"We're close, my little chicklets!" Guy called from up ahead, "Just another three hours' run and we'll reach the gates!"

"Oh good _God_," I breathed. "He's not serious about me running, right?"

"There are three ninja to your disposal," Neji said. "I'm sure there is at least _someone_ who might be strong enough to carry you."

"Watch your mouth, Twinkle Toes," I snapped. "You're trespassing on dangerous territory."

"Yeah," Naruto whispered to Neji. "You don't want to go to _that_ subject. Trust me, I've learned from Sakura, Grace and Tenten—Don't call them fat, even if they are—Ow!" he yelped as I smacked him over the head.

"Rule number one about woman: they have very good ears when you're insulting them." I sighed. "Jeez, the only girl among so many immature guys. Seriously, why does my life suck so badly?"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto said, "I thought girls liked being around guys?"

I pointed at Guy-sensei, who was still enthusiastically running in place, backwards, slowly moving, and calling out encouraging remarks and hoots for us to catch up and 'feel the power of youth under our soles'. "Do you really think _that_ is something any girl wants to have fawned over her?"

"Good point," Naruto said. "I wouldn't want him to fawn over _me_."

"And you're a girl _how_?" I asked.

"Eh," he said. "I can turn into a girl if I want…With _my_ jutsu that you can't even master!"

"Shut up!" I snapped. "I did master it, I just didn't want to prove it."

"What jutsu?" Neji asked, his back to us but his voice sounded interested.

"My sexy jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed. "I bet you want to see Grace—"

"Don't say such things!" I scolded, smacking him on the head, "Do you have any idea how inappropriate you are?"

"I'm not surprised that you attempted to achieve that jutsu," Neji said, sounding amused.

"And why is that?" I asked, raising a deadly eyebrow.

As if he could see the motion, he chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?" I demanded.

He shook his head and continued walking in silence.

"Answer my question!" I said. "Why are you laughing?"

"You're so predictable," he said. "No wonder you always need people to protect you."

I bit my lip and folded my arms. So that's how he thought of me. I'll admit that I might be a bit helpless, but he didn't have to push it in my face so much. I wasn't raised to be a ninja since birth. "I didn't ask you to protect me."

"No," Neji said. "But _they_ did."

"Who?"

"The Elders." Neji explained. "They are the ones who sent Guy-sensei and I on this mission. We are to escort you to settlement where the Princess's aunt lives and then we will escort you back to the village immediately. You are to arrive in both places in one piece, and return to the village within three days."

"Yeah, Guy mentioned that," I mused. "So how are we going to do that?"

"EXCELLENT QUESTION!"

"Oh God…"

"WE WILL RACE THE WINDS!"

"Just stop it while you're ahead," I said. "We'll be running, you say? Did you _see_ this?" I lifted up my kimono to reveal the full extent of my boot. "_I can't run_."

Guy collapsed onto his knee, a look of horror on his face. "Oh," he wailed. "Your foot, your poor foot! Oh, how tragic! To never be able to walk again—"

"I can walk, obviously," I said, closing my eyes.

"Oh to never be able to have—"

"I hope you aren't going to say what you're about to say," I said, throwing Neji a helpless look. "Why doesn't someone just carry me? I don't mind being carried—as long as it's not you," I said, stepping away from Guy. Guy would probably last the longest while carrying me, but I don't like that idea. Not _one_ bit.

I sighed. Maybe I was being a little too critical of Guy-sensei, but he's really hard to get along with. Not that he's doing it on purpose; he's just so eccentric and excited and enthusiastic that he crosses the line at every point.

"Naruto is too weak to carry you for long distances," Guy said, and Naruto began to protest. "No, it's true," Guy said. "You may be able to but you're strength is needed, and I don't want you using your stamina. Neji, you're being used as a lookout but you are the only one who can carry her that I know will succeed—and since she wishes against _me_ carrying her," he wiped a fake tear. "I'm afraid the rest is up to you…"

I sighed, "Well, Twinkle Toes? What do you say? Are you strong enough to carry someone like me?"

He rolled his eyes, then he turned away from me, crouching, "Get on," he said.

I flushed, remembering when Sasuke carried me like that through the Second Exam. "Alright," I said, "I'm coming on." That sounded wrong. "Tell me if I'm too heavy."

I slid onto his back, placing my hands on his shoulders, and his hands positioned themselves under my leg, in the middle of my thigh. Which was awkward because I was wearing a kimono and I had to pull it all the way up, which meant that his hands were actually touching my skin. I have to say, this is a lot more awkward then when Sasuke carried me.

Because at least then I had pants on.

I shifted uncomfortably as he stood up, using his hands to move me slightly to a more comfortable position, "Are you comfortable?" He asked in a surprisingly gentle tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," I said.

"I'd hold on tight," he informed me, "I'd be able to catch you if you fell but the wind and velocity will make it hard for you to hold on if your body is too far away from mine, not to mention you may hit some branches if you don't stay in the same streamline as me."

Naruto smiled wickedly. "You two look—"

"Ready?" Guy shouted. "Alright, let's go!"

My arms tightening around his shoulders and neck as he jumped off. I was always surprised with the speed in which ninja can travel. It's amazing really. He was right though; the farther away my body was from his the more jostled my journey became, but the closer together the smoother it was. Most likely it was the same for him trying to jump from tree to tree. I pressed my body against his, his ears turned red.

I wonder why?

We landed. "I suppose," Guy said. "We should stop at this shop to eat! For the good of the team," he added.

"Yeah right," I muttered, "Let me down!" I demanded, wiggling to free myself from his grasp.

His ears turned bright red and he let go. I made an 'oofing' noise as I landed on my butt. "Hey!" I exclaimed. "You're not supposed to drop me!"

"You said let go," he said somewhat bitterly as he marched off towards the entrance.

"Why did he do that…?" I pondered.

"Maybe because you were rubbing your thighs against his hands," Naruto suggested.

"I was _not_," I snapped. "Not intentionally, at least. I was just trying to get free."

"It sure _looked _like you were—"

"Well, I _wasn't_," I said, sniffing as I stood up, "Jeez… come on," I said. "Let's go."

"Alright," Naruto nodded as he followed me in. "I'm excited to eat—I wonder if they have ramen?"

"That's what you always say—"

"OVER HERE!"

People sitting around us cringed at the volume of the call. Guy-sensei (with a very irritated looking Neji sitting across from him) sat a little ways down in a booth. They were calling us over. "Like we could ever miss him," I muttered. "He's wearing _neon green_ for heaven's sake…like he's wearing a sign over his head or something…"

We made our way over.

"What are we eating? When are we eating? What are we eating?" Naruto exclaimed joyfully as he slid next to Guy.

Great, that means I have to sit next to Twinkle Toes. "Hey," I said, scooting next to him. "How's it been—haven't seen you in forever! Oh my, you _must_ tell me the brand of your conditioner!"

He glared at me. "Must you make inappropriate jokes every time we're in the same proximity?"

"Sorry," I apologized. "You're just so easy to tease."

"Likewise."

I grinned. "So really, what is the brand of your conditioner?"

He sent me a look out of the corner of his eye. "Why do you ask?"

"I noticed while you were carrying me." I lifted a hand and placed it on his head, running it through his locks. "You're hair is very silky and smooth; I was just wondering how you did it."

"Eh," he began, as if not knowing what to say.

"Oh," I exclaimed. "You're mad at me, aren't you?"

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Because your face is red," I said. "Sasuke's face always gets red whenever I say stuff like that."

He stared at me for a moment, before raising an eyebrow. "You are very bad at reading facial signals," he said.

I blinked. "What are you talking about?"

He looked like he was about to snicker. "I rest my case," he said. He nodded to my right and I looked over to see the waitress coming.

"Finally," Guy and Naruto gasped. "We're starving."

"I'm sorry," The waitress said. "We have so many costumers it's impossible to get everyone at once! Do you know what you want to order yet?"

"No…" I said, picking up the menu for the first time. "I might take a moment."

"I want the super spicy chicken curry on rice!" Guy said.

"And I want the miso ramen!" Naruto said, grinning happily at me.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"I'll have…" I glanced at the menu lying on the table. _Dammit, I still can't read._ "I won't have anything."

Guy and Naruto's heads whipped towards me, as if I was crazy, which I'm sure I am. "What are you talking about?" Guy exclaimed, "You're not hungry?"

I shook my head. "Not a bit." I smiled. "You guys just go ahead and eat. You need to keep up your strength."

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked. "You seem hungry to me."

"I'm not," I insisted.

My stomach chose that exact moment to growl.

"I mean, I shouldn't really eat," I said. "I'm on a diet."

Naruto eyed me warily. "Since when?"

Since a perverted doctor assaulted me, I thought sardonically. "I was meaning to go on it a while ago but I just sort of forgot."

"Well, if you're going on a diet," Naruto said. "I guess it's ok."

"Starving yourself isn't a diet," Neji muttered under his breath, so only I could hear.

"This doesn't concern you." I snapped back, just as quietly.

"I'm here to protect you," he retorted. "Your physical welfare is a part of that. I have to make sure you're healthy."

"Yeah, because it's your _mission_," I growled softly. "You don't really care."

He didn't say anything, but instead stared at me. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze before he replied, "I don't know what I did to make you hate me so much but I have the right to know why."

"I'm the one who should be asking _you_ why you hate _me_ so much!" I answered sharply. "You're such an ass to me all the time!"

"A—" he cut himself off, narrowing his eyes. "Since when have I been an ass?" he demanded.

"Since the moment we first met, you genius," I snapped. "You've never done a nice thing for me."

"What do you call carrying you all this way is called?"

"You did that because you had to."

"Then…" he trailed off.

"Can't think of anything, can you?" I smirked.

"Well," he muttered, "I'm not the only one. Think of something that you've done for me."

"I—" I stopped. When _did_ I do something nice for him? Have I ever? I think all I've done is complain about him being an ass. "Well, I still don't like you," I said. "You're just a sexist androgynous asshole."

"I'm not sexi—" he began angrily before I cut him off.

"Don't even try to deny it," I hissed. "You're the most sexist person I know."

"_I'm _sexist," Neji hissed back at me. "_I'm _sexist? Look at yourself!"

"How am _I_ sexist?" I silently shrieked. I'm a _girl_ for heaven's sake. Then again… how am I _not_ sexist…? I suppose thinking that you can't be sexist based on your gender is a sexist thought to begin with. "Well then, Mister High and Mighty, how are _you_ not sexist?"

"What kind of question is that?" he asked.

"It's called—_answer it_," I snapped.

He sighed, "It doesn't matter what my answer is. You'll find a way to see it as being sexist."

I opened my mouth but closed it. He was probably right. Damn, he knows me too well.

I poked his cheek then turned and started chatting with Naruto about ramen, as well as asking Naruto what I should order (seeing as I can't exactly read the menu) and after eating, we set out again.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOoOooOo

My eyes snapped open as my body shifted unexpectedly.

God… how the hell did I manage to fall asleep while riding piggy back on a ninja? Just doesn't make sense… But I was too tired to care… much too tired to care… I buried my face in the back of whoever was carrying me. Their hair smelled really nice. And it was really soft...must be Neji. No, it had to be Neji. Naruto's hair didn't smell this good (trust me) and Guy… well, trust me on that, too.

I was barely aware of my position changing. He was carrying me like a princess. "It's supposed to be the other way around Twinkle Toes…" I murmured sleepily.

He gazed down at me with a somewhat irritated look. "Don't complain," he said. "You can just go to sleep. You need your rest. This is just a safety precaution in case you lose your grip."

"Don't kid around," I said, poking his face. "You really just want to carry me like a princess, you weird romantic ninja."

"I'm not," he sniffed.

"So you're saying that you're not romantic?" I giggled. "How unsophisticated."

"I am not unsophisticated," he snapped.

"Yes you are…" I said.

"No I'm not."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Ok, fine, you're not. You're the definition of sophisticationallisticness."

"Now you're just making up words."

"Am I?" I really had no idea. I was in that place that you traveled to when drifting to and from sleep, in which nothing made sense and at the same time everything made sense.

"Do you…" he began. "Answer me."

"Answer you what?"

"My question," he answered.

"You didn't ask it."

"Yes I did. I asked….so… then… true?"

Drat. I was falling asleep. "Say it…. Louder…"

My eyes shut completely.

When I opened my eyes, I was aware of a strong light. There was window; a large open window that opened onto the balcony, in which light was streaming onto my bed. I was so comfortable. The bed was larger and softer than the bed I had at the Hokage's Mansion. Absolutely incredible. I could sleep here all day…

I sat up, startled. How the hell did I get here?

"There's no need to panic…"

I turned and looked down. "Naruto…" I said. "What are you doing?"

He turned his face away from the pillow and stared up at me with bleary eyes. "I came to wake you up… but this bed is too comfortable…"

"Yes…" I agreed, "This is true… but that's not what I'm asking."

"But that was you're question."

"Sometimes you need to read between the lines."

"Then what is your real question?" He was obviously trying to ignore attempting to understand what the figure of speech meant.

"What am _I_ doing?"

"Keeping me awake?" he asked irritably.

"No, what am I doing in this bed?" I asked again.

"Sleeping? Or you were at least before you woke me up."

"That's…" I ignored the idiotic statement and looked around. "I mean what is this place?"

"This…" Naruto said. "Is the palace where you will be presenting yourself."

"When did we get here?" I asked, alarmed.

"Early this morning." He yawned. "I'm completely pooped. It was hard running through the forest straight through without resting. I don't know how Neji and Guy-sensei did it. They're hardcore, that's for sure."

"But you did it," I said, ruffling his hair.

He grinned happily.

There was a quick, loud rap on the door. "Grace?"

It was Neji.

"What's he doing here?" Naruto asked.

"Probably wondering what's taking you so long to wake me up," I muttered. "Let's give him a surprise…"

"What do you—ahh…" he grinned evilly,."Let's hide under the covers and when he comes in he'll throw back the covers and he'll see me but not you!"

"Let's!" We dove under the covers just in time; the door clicked open and there were footsteps. They stopped at the bed. "Naruto, get out from there."

Naruto threw the covers off. "How the hell did you know?"

"You forget I have the Byakugan. I surveyed the room prior to entering to make sure there wasn't anything I should know."

"You peeping tom!" I shouted, standing up. "How dare you! What if I was naked!"

There was silence.

"Like you are now?" Neji asked.

I glanced down and shrieked.

Although I wasn't _naked,_ per say, I was only wearing… cough… undergarments. "Ah!" I sat down and drew up the covers, "Naruto why didn't you say anything?!"

"I forgot." He said, shrugging.

Which was probably true.

"And you!" I said, pointing accusingly at Neji. "Why aren't you embarrassed?"

He raised an eyebrow, "With my Kekkai Genkai you get used to this sort of thing. Besides," he said, turning away and walking for the door, "It was nothing worth getting excited over anyway, barely average if you ask me. You're expected in the Dining Parlor in half an hour, make sure you're ready by then." He left, closing the door behind him.

"That bastard…" I grumbled to myself, "What does he mean: "Barely average"?" I shot an angry look at Naruto, "Am I barely average to you?"

"I don't know," he said, "I don't really look at you like that." His eyes flicked down. Then he shuddered, "I don't like looking at you like that."

"I didn't ask you to!" I yelled.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Luckily I didn't have to think about what to wear, as two maids came in (aggressively chased Naruto out, I believe he's still shaking) and got me dressed without even asking my opinion.

I felt like my face was going to fall off. They caked so much make-up on it was ridiculous. They pushed me forward and down the hall. Servants bowed and occasionally nobles would also bow and say some sort of formal greeting.

"Princess."

I turned my head to see Neji, wearing formal Hyuga attire, "Their majesties are awaiting you in here."

It actually makes sense that they sent him to be my guard. He _is_ the most formal of all the ninja guarding me. I nodded, and the servants at the door slid it open. I took a deep breath, my heart in my throat, and stepped through.

Inside were an assemble of servants, as well as a splendidly dressed woman, and a girl, whom I had to take a double take when looking at. She looked … _awfully_ like me. It was somewhat disconcerting. I had always assumed that the reason I was sent on this mission, or more that I was chosen for this mission because it was convenient, but I never thought because I looked like the princess herself.

The hair was a large contributor (of which wasn't real on my part), but we had the same shaped eyes and eye color, and a similar facial structure. She was sitting, so I wasn't sure if we were the same height, but we also were around the same weight, her being the slightly thinner one.

"Incredible." The larger woman, dressed to the nines, said. She flicked her hand and all of her attendants immediately left the room. She stood, "I am Lady Aruna. I am the younger sister of the Fire Lord, it is a pleasure to meet you." She flickered her eyes up and down my body, measuring my worth. "When I contacted the Leaf Village to request they send a decoy for my niece, it did not cross my mind they would have been able to send someone with such a striking resemblance. And," she continued, "If I am not mistaken, you are of noble blood?"

"Not quite," I said, bowing formally, "I was adopted into the Sarutobi clan."

"I see…" she said, a slight frown on her face, "The Sarutobi clan has been very loyal to my family. Since you were adopted into them, I hope that you share their loyalty."

She was testing me. I felt Neji stiffen slightly, and realized that this wasn't just an insult to me but to the village.

"I am," I said, "I hope to serve you as best as I can."

"Good." She said, "This is my niece, Princess Haruka. You will be posing as her as she enters the city. Then you will be free to go."

She turned around, "You may leave. Preparations are being made."

That's it? I'm just being dismissed like that? Neji took my sleeve and tugged slightly. I suppose he's more accustomed to formal meetings than I am, being from a high-class clan. I bowed again and turned around, but before I did, I noticed that the princess was eyeing me strangely, she opened mouthed sometimes to me, but the door slid closed before I could decipher what it was she was trying to say.

"Come with me, Princess," a servant said, bowing. "We we will lead you out a back passageway to where your caravan is awaiting."

I was quickly dressed in servant's clothing and rushed to the caravan, in which upon entering I was quickly redressed in formal attire, much more formal than the one I had been in earlier that day. "Why not just have me camp out and forget all this scurrying around? I asked Neji bitterly.

He rolled his eyes, "Don't ask me. We were planning on doing this, but Lady Aruna would not hear of it. She insisted that you sleep within the safety of the castle. She said that if the princess looked like she had trouble traveling, or wasn't well rested, it would hinder the family's image of being…. Well, _god like_."

"I see…" so it was entirely for selfish reasons. And here I had thought that they might have cared for my health personally. Neji stepped out of the little box like thing, and I felt it surge into the air as the men carrying it hoisted it up, and started moving forward.

It felt strange, as we entered the city via the front gate, and as the people cheered, it felt like I was coming home. It felt nice, hearing all those people happy to see me coming in, even if I wasn't the one they were truly cheering for.

I felt… at home.

Then the carriage stopped and the flap was drawn back. I stepped out carefully, and the cheering grew. I felt the hair at the back of my neck tingle as Neji stepped closer to me, obviously taking a protective stance. Guy and Naruto were probably somewhere nearby.

I walked up the large stone steps, and disappeared within the doorways. I was lead through the hallways to a large room.

"Good work." The noble lady said, "You are dismissed now. You may pack up your things and leave. Oh, your team leader has your pay for the village, as well as your personal bonus."

"Thank you, my lady." I said, bowing.

"There is no need to thank me, you were doing your job." She sniffed, turning around and walked away, "I suggest you leave soon. I have no need for ninja anymore."

"Yes, my lady," I bowed again, and then backed out of the room, the door slid close, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It's over. Now I can return and visit everyone.

Neji laid a hand on my shoulder, "You did well." He said. Then he turned around and began walking away. I followed closely.

"Wait! Grace!" I stopped short, turning around. Who one earth was calling me?

My mouth dropped open. The princess, dressed as a servant, was rushing towards me.

"Please!" she said, "Please, will you help me?"

My eyes widened, and Neji took a defensive stance, "What is it?" I asked.

"Well," she said, looking at her feet, "You did such a good job pretending to me during the ceremony, I was wondering if you could… prolong your mission for a little longer."

"Impossible," Neji cut in, "Our mission is complete."

"I'll pay you!" she said, "I'll do anything!"

"What is it that you need me to do?" I asked, curious as to what she needed.

"Tonight is the ball," she said, "But…"

"You want me to pose as you at the ball?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, "I'm not sure if that'll work. After all, if that happens, where will you be?"

"I…" her cheeks turned pink, "I want to see him one more time… After tonight, we'll never be able to see each other, not in the same way…"

I see…! So she has a lover who is commoner but she won't be able to see him any longer! "I agree!" I said, taking her hands, "Don't worry, I'll pose tonight as you!"

"Thank you so much!" she said, "I am in your debt!"

"Grace…." Neji began, his voice dangerously low. "You have no authorization to make this decision!"

"I do," I said, "I can do what I want."

"You're not the leader of this mission," Neji stated.

"Neither are you."

"Guy-sensei will never agree to it."

"So?" I said, "I'm not a ninja so you guys have no authorization over _me. _Plus, I rank higher than you anyway as the granddaughter of the Hokage."

"Just go to my bedchamber later tonight," The princess continued, ignoring Neji, "The servants there will know what to do."

"Alright!" I said.

Going to a ball dressed as a princess—this is like a fairy tale!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I can't _believe_ how irresponsible you are." Neji muttered, pacing the floor.

"There's nothing to be mad at," I pointed out.

Guy and Naruto entered the room, "We're setting out!" Guy yelled enthusiastically.

"Not so fast," I said, waving my arm, "We're staying another night."

Naruto and Guy stopped short and stared at me with dumbfounded expressions. "What are you talking about?" Guy asked, "Why are we staying?"

"Because," I said, crossing my arms, "The princess has requested a secret mission."

"A secret mission—by the princess?" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes brightening, "Whoa!"

"Hold on," Guy said, raising his hand to stop the emotional connection going on, "I'm afraid that I can't allow this."

Neji smirked at me.

"But Guy-sensei…" I whined, "It's really important—the Princess's love and freedom of youth is dependent on it!"

Guy stopped short, considering it. "What, exactly, is the mission?"

"I'm going to be taking her place at the ball tonight," I said, "As she goes…" I put on a dramatic face and voice, "To go see her beloved for the very last time—the last time they will ever be together before their youthful freedom is brutally torn apart by the—"

"No need to continue!" Guy exclaimed, grasping my hands, his eyes brimming with tears, "I understand completely! There's no need to explain—I understand!"

Neji's eye twitched.

Over Guy's shoulder, I smirked right back at him.

"Who's going to protect you?" Neji said, "At the ball tonight?"

"Naruto," I said, "He did _beat_ you, after all, at the Chuunin exams, right?"

His eye twitched again.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, "That's right! Ok, I'll go with her!"

"But—"

"I should probably stay in the shadows," Guy said, sneakily, "After all, with my gorgeous and youthful physique the ladies won't be able to keep their hands off of me, and that wouldn't serve very well for a mission, now would it?"

"I think you have it backwards," I muttered, "Great, so Guy, you stay in the shadows, Naruto, you accompany me, and Neji can stay here and sulk. Now, I'm going to go to the princess's chambers and get dressed. See you!" I left quickly before Neji could complain anymore.

This will be so much fun!

"Why are you here?" I asked.

He sighed and looked away, "I'm here to protect you, idiot."

"You look like a girl," I giggled.

"Don't say that—!" Neji was cut off by the announcer, who was making a formal announcement of my entrance.

"Well, anyway, thank you for coming," I said, "This is scarier than I thought."

"What did you expect."

The announcer signaled for me, and Naruto and Neji disappeared. They'd probably reappear in the crowd somewhere. I stepped through and walked out. There were so many people… I can't believe it.

And it was so bright.

And shiny.

And bright.

And so many pretty people…

And so many nicely dressed people…

And so much royalty…

Oh my…

I wasn't sure what to do and everyone was looking at me expectantly until a boy around my age walked up and said, "Would you like to dance with me, Cousin?"

Ah, here comes the challenge.

Not only do I not know how to dance, how am I going to keep her _cousin _from knowing? I'm skrewed!

We started dancing, and he leaned in, "It's ok, I'll lead." He whispered.

"What?" I whispered back.

"You may have striking resemblance to Haru, but you can't hide it from me." He frowned, "I have no idea why my cousin decided to bail out on tonight, but she must have a reason…." His eyebrows furrowed deep into his eyes, "It better be a good reason."

Uh-oh. Something tells me something important is happening tonight.

"Regardless," he twirled me, "I won't tell anyone of this little escapade. I'd like to see what everyone's reactions are," he smirked, "This will be much more entertaining than I thought."

What did he mean by that?

Ok, now I'm getting scared.

The dance ended, and he bowed and I curtsied. "Thank you for the dance." I said.

"Of course, my lady," he said. Then he gave me one more amused look, before walking away.

"My lady…"

I turned around to see two men standing behind me. One was an older man who was finely dressed, and the other was a younger man, perhaps in his very late teens or very early twenties.

And he was…

Gorgeous…

He looked like a model.

"My Lady, may I have the honor of finally introducing Lord Satoshi, the son of the Wind Daimyo."

Wind Daimyo. That's the same… that's the formal word for the Wind Lord, right? Holy cow…this guy is his son?

Then again I _am_ posing as the niece of the Fire Lord…

But that's not _me…_

"Lord Satoshi, may I present Princess Haruka."

He bowed, and I curtsied. I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know wha—

"Would you honor me with a dance, my lady?" he asked.

Oh my God oh my God oh my God his voice is so beautiful!

I nodded, at a loss for words. Holy, cow, to think I'd be dancing with such a hot guy, and not to mention he's a prince!! Oh my God!!

Heh, I wish Sakura and Tenten could see me now.

No, I wish _Ino_ could see me now!

We began dancing, and I'm embarrassed to say that I was so nervous that I stumbled even more. I glanced up at him and saw that he was chuckling. He tightened his position around my waist to keep me from stumbling again.

"You're more…" he began. "It truly is a pleasure to be able to meet you face to face, my princess."

Oh wow… he called me his princess…

Wait, if we haven't met face to face before, then that means that he doesn't know I'm fake! This is awesome! But for some reason I feel really bad about lying to him… he's…

He looks like an angel…

I think I'm drooling… just kidding.

"To tell you the truth," he said, "I was nervous about meeting you, after all, we had never met and I had only seen your picture once."

"I see…" I said. How am I supposed to tell him that I didn't know who he was until a minute ago?

"Were you… also nervous?"

I thought back to how panicked the princess was when she pleaded I help her. "Yes," I said, "I was also very nervous. I almost didn't show up."

He smiled, "I am glad that you did, you have truly brightened up the ballroom with your beautiful face."

Aw… I'm melting… "Thank you," I said, blushing.

His smile widened. "I am beginning to think that this arrangement might not be such a bad idea."

"Arrangement?" I asked.

"Yes," he continued, "At first, I was strongly opposed to the idea, it was preposterous, even if it was for the wellbeing and unity of our countries."

"Ah," I said. I might as well go with the flow. "I did as well."

"But now that I have met you, I am starting to believe that this might be perfect."

"Perfect?" I asked, confused. If I could only get a bit more information I'd know exactly what it was he was talking about. He's being so aloof, it's hard to tell.

"You don't think so?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"Ah," I said, quick, recover, RECOVER! "It's not that I don't think it's perfect… but I think that things such as these… take time. I just met you, so I'm not sure what my opinion on the matter is… but I can tell that you are a kind and considerate person, and so, I believe that if I have more opportunities to learn more about you, I too, will grow to think it's perfect." I smiled shyly up at him, "If such opportunities are available?"

He blinked down at me, and smiled, "They are," he said quietly.

We continued dancing in silence.

"You are different from the rumors," he said, suddenly.

"Rumors?" I asked.

"Ah, forgive me," he said, "I didn't mean to offend."

"No, continue." It's not like the rumors are actually about _me_.

"From what I had heard… you weren't as… agreeable to this arrangement as you appear now, and I even hear rumors that you had a disagreeable disposition, but I see now that those were merely just rumors."

"I am glad," I said, "That you can see through those lies."

He smiled.

The music stopped suddenly, and the noise died down. Lady Aruna stood up on a dais. "Ladies and Gentlemen," she announced, gazing around the room with a shrewd eye, "Thank you very much for appearing tonight."

She paused. "As you all now, there has much strife between the Fire Nation and the Wind Nation, due to the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Leaf Village. However, tonight changes that. By creating a unity between the Wind Nation and the Fire Nation we are able to finally bring together the two nations to unify together, to prevent any occurrence from happening again. This peace treaty will hopefully act as a friendship agreement between the two countries, and the two villages.

"To accommodate this treaty, I had prepared this ball, especially, to congratulate the engagement of my niece, Princess Haruka, and the son of the Wind Diamyo, Prince Satoshi, for it is only thanks to this marriage that our plans for peace are possible."

Everyone raised their glasses.

I just stared at the old woman as if she were crazy.

Prince Satoshi tightened his arm around my waist, "Shall we dance?" he asked.

I just nodded, not even realizing that we had started dancing, in the middle of the dance floor, while the attendants of the ball watched.

I had…

That…

What the hell am I going to do now?!

oOoOoOoOooOooOooOoOooOoOoOoo

_To be continued…_

Whooo…. I'm tired now.

Haha, this was quite the plot twist! Not that you couldn't tell it was coming by the conversation, only Grace was too stupid to catch on ^^

Oh, this was totally random.

Next update will be on Christmas Eve, and it will be the Christmas chapter! ^^

Any ideas?

I believe there will only be one more chapter of this, she'll be returning to the village within the next chapter, or in the beginning of the one after that (because it's boring, really, and that's the main reason I added the prince in there, gotta add some DRAMA)

Besides, who wouldn't want to play Cinderella for a little bit?

Oh, and if there are any mistakes (spelling, grammatical, plotwise, or just something contradicting or not making sense with what I have written earlier) please tell me. I have the memory of a goldfish. Five seconds. And I'd rather feel the shame of someone telling I did something wrong than ten people reading and thinking to themselves that I did something wrong…. Sigh… just be nice

Peace out,

fUnKyToEs


	58. Bonus Chapter: Christmas

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: Bonus Chapter: Christmas Chapter

WORDS: 3, 882 words

DISCLAIMER: I do not claim to own anything that is copyrighted by someone else.

BEFORE WORD: Wow, I actually go the chapter in on time! A FIRST! WoooooOOOOO! HERE is the Christmas chapter, and for once it's actually on time! I'm not sure if it's my best, I'm not too fond of it but it's better than nothing! There are a lot of grammatical errors and I write it in bits and pieces so it may be a little confusing… if the different parts don't make sense

Also, may I remind you that this chapter has NOTHING to do with the original plot. It has never happen, nor will happen within the plot. It is merely a bonus chapter, that happens to have the same characters.

But taking that into account, there is a very special present at the end!

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

oOoOoOoooOoOoOoooOo

"I can't believe it's already been a year already…" I said, lifting up a box and moving it to see if the box of ornaments was underneath it.

"Why do you look so cheerful?" Sasuke muttered as he worked beside me.

I sighed, "Just because you like to be anti-festive and enjoy putting a down side on cheerful and happy holidays doesn't mean you have to ruin it for everyone else. Don't say anything if it's not nice."

"I'll be silent then." He muttered.

I rolled my eyes, and then nudged him with my hip, "Why the long face, huh? It's Christmas time! It's supposed to be the happiest time of the year!"

"Grace! Grace!"

I looked up to see Konohamaru running up the stairs, "You won't believe it!" he shouted, "Grandpa is—"

"Konohamaru!" Sakura shouted behind him, "Don't run, ok?"

"Wha—it's my house!" Konohamaru shouted back at her, "I can run if I—" He let out a yell as his foot stepped on his scarf, causing him to fall backwards.

Sasuke and I both moved forwards , but then Sakura appeared, pushing Konohamaru back into a standing position. "See what I told you?" she said, "With your long scarf you can't be running up stairs! You should be running with that scarf anyway! It's not very ninja-like—it's just like Naruto's jump suit!"

"What about my jump suit?" Someone yelled from downstairs.

We laughed as Naruto's head surfaced, or more, the bright red Santa hat that he was wearing. "Hey, hey!" he said, "Grace, did you find the ornaments? Lee and Guy-sensei just brought in the trees!"

"The trees?" I asked, frowning, "I thought we sent them out to just get _one_?"

"Well," Sakura exhaled slowly, and I could tell that it was a touchy subject, "You shouldn't have sent Lee _and_ Guy-Sensei out to get it. Apparently they got so hyped up about carrying the tree back that they decided that each one of them had to carry a tree, to see who was the strongest and most festive."

"Let me guess, they're both huge…" I groaned, "We don't have enough ornaments—not enough from last year anyway…"

"I sent Tenten and Neji out to get some," Sakura said.

Naruto was still chuckling quietly to himself, and I looked at him, somewhat perturbed. "Naruto, what are you laughing at?"

"Guy is dressed as Santa…" he chortled.

"Oh good God," I said, "That's perfect and yet so disturbing at the same time…"

"Tell me about it," Sakura muttered, "Lee is also dressed as Santa."

"I'm not surprised." I said.

"They tried to make Neji dress up as an elf but he wouldn't stand for it."

"That's an even creepier thought—and more fitting." Neji would actually make a perfect Lord of the Rings elf, but that's just my opinion.

"Any luck with the ornaments?"

"Nope." I said, "We can't find it anywhere."

"Are you sure that's not because you two were actually looking?" Naruto asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively, "You two weren't doing anything… _else_… were you?"

I rolled my eyes, "You're so immature. Because of that, I volunteer _you_ to look for the ornaments."

"Wha—?" Naruto exclaimed, "No fair!"

"That _is_ not fair," Sasuke said, "I refuse to look for _anything_ with someone as immature as _Naruto_."

"Hey!" Naruto whined, "That's mean!"

"Fine," I said, "Sakura, could you help Sasuke?"

Sakura smiled, blushing slightly, "Of course!"

"Naruto! Konohamaru!" I said, "Let's go downstairs and see how the cooking is going!"

"Ok!" Naruto said, "That'll be fun!" he grabbed my hand and then stuck his tongue out at Sasuke, before snuggling up to me as we descended. "You know Grace, you always plan the biggest Christmas parties. What's with that?"

"She's obsessed…" Konohamaru muttered, "She's been talking of nothing else for _weeks_."

"That's not true." I said, "I've been… no, actually, that sounds about right."

"What are they cooking?" Naruto asked, "It smells good—ramen?" he asked hopefully.

"Probably," I said.

We entered the kitchen. "Wow, you got actual cooks—"

"YOU'RE DOING IT ALL WRONG!"

"Then again…" I muttered, "GUY-SENSEI!" I yelled.

He spun towards me and opened his arms wide, "Welcome, madam, what can I do for you today?"

"I thought you were dressing up at Santa Claus, not the head chef?" I asked, him, placing my hands on my hips.

He frowned, "Well, they _were_ doing it all wrong, madam, I had to intercept and correct their wrong doings."

"These people are professionals." I groaned, "Why do you always have to—"

"Not now! Not now!" Guy-sensei laughed, pushing us out of the kitchen, "I know you're all so eager to taste my splendid cooking but you must wait for tonight to taste it!"

"That man…" I growled as the kitchen door shut. "Will get his ass kicked if he's not careful."

"Think about it," Ryuichi said, "What kind of damage to you think you could really cause?"

"A lot!" I yelled at him. I sighed, 'Ryuichi, what are you doing here? I thought that I gave you the day off."

He raised his eyebrows, and then closed his eyes dramatically, "A guards job is never done." He said, "Besides, wasn't I invited tonight? Don't tell me you're not happy to see me."

I rolled my eyes, "Don't go there." I said, "Speaking of which, where are the ornaments…?"

"Don't ask me," he shrugged. "I'm not in charge."

"Go look for some." I said.

"Whoa, whoa," he said, putting up his hands in defense, careful, careful! I'm just a guest tonight—and actually, you're right! I should be going—today is my day off!" he disappeared.

"He just didn't want to do any work." I muttered.

"We're back!" I heard Tenten yell from the front of the house.

"Let's go!" I said, quickly walking towards the front of the house. I saw Tenten and Neji place a few boxes on the floor.

"I think this should be enough," Tenten said, "What do you think?"

"I think it's more than—Oh my God!" I said in shock, as the two, might I say _gigantic_, trees came into my view. "What on _earth_ possessed them to get such large trees?"

"Don't ask me," Neji muttered, "I don't understand the thought process of animals."

"That's not a very nice thing to say." Tenten frowned.

"I don't care." Neji sighed, "I'm going."

"Wha… you're not staying to help more?" I asked.

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't feel like it."

"Why?"

He turned his head to glare at me, before muttered, "And I may or may not be coming tonight." He walked stiffly out of the door..

"Oh dear, looks like I angered him…" I said.

"Grace!" Naruto yelled as he ran in, "Grace you have to come—Guy-sensei just—"

"Don't tell me," I muttered, "Just take me there…"

_Later that evening…_

"I can't wait till they come!"

"Come back you mean?" Sakura asked as she played with my hair.

"Yup." I grinned. "I just wish we could have put more mistletoe up."

"You're hoping to be under it with someone?" Sakura giggled.

"Actually I don't really believe in that stuff," I shrugged, "I just think it would give the atmosphere a more romantic feel."

"Again," Sakura laughed, "Is there someone you hope to catch underneath?"

"Maybe," I laughed.

"Who?" She demanded.

"I'm not telling…!" I giggled. Truth was I didn't have anyone, but I might as well play along. It's more fun this way.

Everyone who had been here helping had left to get ready for the party. Except Sakura who had stayed to get ready here.

"This will be so much fun." Sakura said. She was wearing a little dark pink dress with nylon tights and black shoes, and a little white cashmere sweater. She looked adorable.

I myself was wearing a black dress, with nylons and black heels, and a white silk scarf. I didn't choose the outfit, Sakura and Tenten did. Personally I don't think it's very festive, and I would have preferred to have been able to wear something a little more festive, but Sakura said this was sexier.

I have no idea how dressing sexy and Christmas have anything related to each other, but apparently, they do. I sighed.

"What did you get Sasuke for a present?" Sakura asked.

"What? Oh… that… hm… let's see…"

"You don't remember?" she asked, startled.

"Well," I said, defensively, "I was doing a lot of shopping at the time, I don't necessarily remember what I got for whom at a moment's notice!"

"Well, _now_ do you know?"

"I think I got him a scarf…"

"A scarf?" she said, raising an eyebrow, "A _scarf_?"

"He's hard to buy a present for…" I muttered.

"I can see that…" Sakura said.

Konohamaru burst through the door, "Grace! It's time!"

"Wha—already?" I asked, jumping off the bed. "Come on!" I said to Sakura, "Let's go!"

_A few moments later…_

"I'M HERE!" Naruto shouted as he burst through. The first guest.

"Amazing, you're on time." I muttered.

"I brought the presents!" Naruto shouted as he dashed past us and placed them under the tree. He then started digging through the ones already there to see how many he had.

"He has a one track mind…" I sighed.

"Alright," Sakura said as she finished placing the fake cloth antlers on Bingley's head, "Isn't he just adorable?!"

"Soo cute!" I said, crouching down and petting him.

"We're here!" Tenten sang as she walked through the door, Lee closely following and a rather reluctant Neji stepping in.

"Look who decided to show up." I grinned, standing, "Well, who would have thought, huh?"

He glared at me, "I didn't want to—I came to keep an eye on everyone."

"So!" Tenten shouted, "Do we put our presents here?"

"Yup!" I said, "And on that table are refreshments if you want any, as well as some d'oeuvres."

"Yum!" Naruto said, jumping up from his position under one of the trees, "Oh…" he looked disappointed, "There's no ramen…"

"Naruto…" I muttered, "Why would there be ramen?"

"Because… because I want ramen!" He whined, teary eyed.

"You _might_ get ramen later," I sighed, greeting other guest.

That's when I certain ninja walked into the door.

"Shikamaru…?" I asked, shocked.

His cheeks turned a slight pink color and her looked away, looking irritable, "Look," he muttered, "My mother made me wear them, ok? They're not exactly _my_ _style_."

"I think it's cute!" I chuckled.

Shikamaru wearing a red nose and antlers. It's just too much…and so fitting…

"I think it's cute, too." A haughty voice said from behind him.

He rolled his eyes and half glared at the blonde. She grinned widely at him, mockingly. Then she walked past him and gave me a hug.

"Temari!" I exclaimed, "I didn't think you'd make it!"

"Well," she said, winking, "Don't underestimate the speed of Sand Ninja! Kankuro is going to be a little late, he had to prepare for the puppet show."

"Puppet show?" I asked.

"Yeah…" She scratched the back of her head, "I think he's planning on presenting a puppet show… I'm not sure though. Don't really care." She shrugged, "So how are you?"

"Good, good…" I peered around her, looking for Gaara in the crowd of people who were trailing in, "Did Gaara come?"

"I have no idea." Temari said, "Christmas isn't really his sort of—"

"We're here!" Ino sang as she walked in the door. I narrowed my eyes. Her arm was around Sasuke's waist. Why? WHY?

"Why?" I said, pointing at them.

"Probably because she's a wh—"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and pulled her arm off of him, "Leave me alone, Ino." He muttered before making his way over to me.

"Yeah, Ino!" Sakura yelled, storming over to her. Well, this may get complicated…

"Merry Christmas, Grace." Sasuke said.

"Oh, Merry Christmas!" I replied, "To tell you the truth I'm surprised you made an appearance!"

He frowned, "Why wouldn't I show up?"

"Well, you know, you didn't seem too enthusiastic earlier…"

"I put in ten hours today preparing for this party," he sighed, "I at least should have the right to come to it."

"I didn't mean it like that!" I cried, "I just meant…. Well, it doesn't matter anymore." I grabbed his hand, then raised my voice so the noisy crowd could hear me, "Let's go to the parlor." I shouted.

"A parlor?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, we can't all sit down, so I thought it would be better if it were like a buffet and people just sort of milled around and chatted as well as danced!"

"Dance…?" he asked, paling.

"That's right!" I said, "Dancing! Ooh! That's right!" I let go of his hand, "Neji!"

He turned, half glaring at me. "What is it?" he muttered.

I dashed over to him, placing an arm around his shoulder, "Well, twinkle toes? How does it sound? Want to have the first dance with me?"

He rolled his eyes, "I'd rather not."

I pouted, "That's not very nice…"

He sighed, "I suppose I could manage one dance."

"Great!" I stuck my tongue out at him and walked back to Sasuke. I grinned at him, "Would you like to go in?"

He was just staring at me, red in the face.

"Wha… are you blushing?" I asked, poking him.

"Why… where… why did you ask to dance with him?" he demanded.

"Eh… are you angry?" I asked.

"Angry?" he asked, and I could tell from his voice that he was livid, "I'm not angry, I'm just…" he shook his head, "I'm just… I just don't want you to dance with him…"

"Why?" I asked, cocking my head. Seriously, why would Sasuke care if I danced with Neji? "I just wanted to ask him to dance because I always make fun of him—you know, calling him twinkle toes and ballet boy?"

"That's all?" he demanded.

I nodded, "That's all, I swear!"

"Yo!" Naruto shouted from the door, "Lovebirds! What are you doing!? There isn't even any mistletoe over there!"

"Wha—Naruto!" I yelled. "Come on, let's go!" I stormed after Naruto, to punish him for implying such a thing.

I mean….

Seriously!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I walked through the door and grinned at the array. Looks like everyone is having fun!

Success!

"Where's Neji…" I said, scanning the crowd. "Ah, there he is! See you later Sasuke!" I dashed off. Like Dasher. The reindeer.

That was kind of lame…

"Neji!" I said, tapping him on the shoulder, "Aren't you going to ask me to dance?"

"Why should I? Didn't you already ask me?"

"That's right…" I frowned, "Then I'll dance the part of the man. You look more girly than I do anyway."

"You do realize that you're insulting yourself, don't you?"

Oh crap… he's right… I grabbed his hand, "Come on twinkle toes, let's go!"

I pulled him onto the floor, "Come on! Let's dance!"

"You don't take no for an answer, do you?" he asked, sighing. "You are a piece of work."

"I know!" I grinned, "I'm just doing this to annoy you, you know."

"I wouldn't doubt it." He muttered.

I was surprised to find out that he was surprisingly good at dancing. "That really is incredible." I said, "You're pretty good, Twinkle Toes!"

He rolled his eyes, "I'd rather not waste it on you—"

"Does that mean that there's someone who you would like to waste it on?" I asked, leaning in. This was getting interesting!

"What on earth makes you think that?"

"You just said 'I'd rather not waste—'"

"I doubt I would say it would be a waste if I were dancing with someone I _wanted_ to dance with." He said, "There's a flaw in your logic."

"Don't make fun of me," I said, leaning in farther, "Tell me, who is it?"

"Who is what?"

"Who do you want to dance with?"

"What makes you say that?"

"What makes me say what?"

"That there is even someone I'd like to dance with?"

"Well, from what you said—"

"I was just saying that you're the last person I'd like to dance with tonight."

"Then why'd you agree?"

"Because you'd never leave me alone until I agreed. You _did_ say that you only asked me to dance to annoy me. You would have probably enjoyed it if I refused. You'd have much more time to annoy me."

"Am I succeeding?"

"Alarmingly." He muttered. "And that's saying something…."

I smiled, "That's all that counts."

We stopped suddenly, and I realized that it was because Neji had seen something. I turned and saw Sasuke standing there. "Sasuke…" I said, "What are you doing?"

He glanced at me before glaring slightly at Neji, "May I interrupt?" he asked, somewhat rudely.

Neji returned the glare, and let go of me, "Of course," he said, sending me a raised eyebrow before leaving.

"Sasuke!" I exclaimed, "What on _earth_ possessed you to do that?"

He ignored me and quickly grabbed me and pulled me into the dance.

"Answer me." I said, "Why—"

"You were getting too close to him." He said, stiffly.

"I was too close to him…?" I thought about it. I suppose when I leaned in for him to tell me who he wanted to dance with could have been interpreted as leaning in romantically… oh no! I paled. How embarrassing.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I didn't mean to. I was just trying to annoy him."

"Is that all you were trying to do?" he asked, irritated.

"Yes, I swear." I sighed, "You know, this is the second time you've done this."

"What are you talking about?"

"Last year I was dancing with Kiba, and you interrupted, and this year I was dancing with Neji and you interrupted."

"I just…" he began, "I don't like it when you… I'm very… I suppose I just get…"

"Get what?" I asked.

The song changed to a slow song. How ironic. Of course it becomes awkward now that I'm dancing with Sasuke. I smiled at him and stepped closer to him, "This is a slow dance," I explained, "You have to hold me close."

He turned red.

I sighed. Now I've done it. He's angry again. "You don't have to if you don't want to," I said. "I can go get Neji and—" I yelped quietly as he pulled me.

"There's no need for that." He said.

For some reason… I could feel my cheeks heat up. Don't tell me I'm blushing…?

The dance soon ended, and, to my surprise, I was actually sad. I wanted it to continue!

"Well, well, well…" Naruto chortled, "What have we here, standing under the mistletoe?"

Sasuke and I turned around to see Naruto standing behind us, holding up mistletoes over our heads.

"Naruto…" I said, "What _are_ you doing?"

"Making you kiss?" Naruto asked, as if it were the most obviously thing in the world."

"That's not…" I rolled my eyes, "You don't seriously believe in that stuff, do you?"

He looked hurt, "Are you saying you don't want to kiss Sasuke?"

"I'm saying I don't feel like having you follow us around and make us look stupid."

"But!" Naruto started, "You—"

I pushed him away, "Go… away…!"

He pouted and stormed off, to go annoy some other couple.

Whoa… did I just imply that Sasuke and I were a couple?"

"Sasuke!" I said, "I just, for a moment, thought we were a couple! How hilarious is that?"

He looked at me, frowning, "Depends." He said.

"Well," I yawned, "Will you get me something to drink?"

"What do you want?"

"Don't care." I said, "I'll wait over there!" I pointed to the place.

He nodded and left.

I grinned and made my way over to Sakura. "So how is it going for you?" I asked.

"This party is a big success!" Sakura said, "It's very classy!"

"It's a pain in the ass," Shikamaru moaned, "I can't believe I was forced to come here."

"By your mother?" I asked.

"No…" he muttered, "Someone had to come and make sure Choji didn't eat all the food."

"Ah…" I said, "Yes, that makes sense… although we have enough—"

"I don't think you hear me," Shikamaru interrupted, "I came to make sure Choji didn't eat all the food."

"I see…" I said, "Well, I've got to get going, Merry Christmas!"

I made my way over to the place where I told Sasuke to meet me, and saw him walking over, bringing two drinks. "Non-alcoholic, I hope?" I joked as I took one.

He rolled his eyes. "I thought you were the one who insisted that no alcohol be served at this party?"

"It was just a joke," I grinned, taking a sip, "So… Now…"

I blinked… I was seeing Sasuke, but for some reason, he looked different than he did before. "Sasuke…" I said, confused. I was going to ask him a question, but the way his name came out, it was so shocking that I couldn't speak. It sounded like… I was… it was… let's just say it was a little embarrassing…

He blushed and leaned in. I realized, without much surprise, that we were going to kiss, and to my surprise, I leaned in as well. I wonder… if we're standing under mistletoe.

He moved closer to me, and I could feel the warmth of his breath on my lips before—

"GRACE!"

I yelped and woke from the trance, snapping away from him, and spinning towards where I heard the noise. "Naruto!" I said, in surprise.

"TIME TO OPEN PRESENTS!" Naruto shouted, happily.

"Wha… Wait for me!" I exclaimed, rushing after him. I felt a pull as Sasuke grabbed my wrist, yanking me back.

"Not this time." He whispered.

The END

Merry Christmas!

fUnKyToEs


	59. Cinderella: Part II

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyTOEs

CHAPTER: Cinderella: Part II (AKA: the MARY-SUE ARC jk)

WORDS: 6,800 words

WARNING: As you probably guessed this chapter is rather comical but with that comes some mary-sue moments, so you have been warned… If you're not interested in reading it because you want to skip to more serious chapters, that's ok because this arc won't really have anything to do with the rest of Truthspeaker, some characters will return in the sequel, but that's it, so if you want to skip it, you can flip to the bottom of this page and I'll give a brief overview of the chapter. For people who are going to read it and just laugh at how pathetic Grace is when it comes to fixing problems, read on.

DISCLAIMER: I don't claim to own what is already copyrighted.

BEFOREWORD: Sorry this is so late! I do an internship as a graphic designer and then I have swim practice (I'm on the varsity team) that ends at eight thirty every night so getting homework done is gruelingly painful… I get no sleep. Plus over the weekends we usually have meets. I was going to update this yesterday but I had a meet and we got our asses kicked… badly. We're a good team but this team was out of our league. This one dude got a 4:59 for the 500 Free, and if anyone knows anything about swimming, that's GOOD. Like, he qualifies for States by a LONG SHOT, and their girl's team was pretty good, which is why _we _got beat so bad too. _On_ the bright side I beat my personal best for the 100 breast by a second, which is good because I'm the B breaststroker on the team (meaning I'm the one positioned to get fourth, third or second place, although recently I've been getting a few first places) Whoo… off topic. Basically, my personal life has been pretty crazy so that's why this chapter is so late!

On with the chapter:

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooO

The music stopped suddenly, and the noise died down. Lady Aruna stood up on a dais. "Ladies and Gentlemen," she announced, gazing around the room with a shrewd eye, "Thank you very much for appearing tonight."

She paused. "As you all now, there has much strife between the Fire Nation and the Wind Nation, due to the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Leaf Village. However, tonight changes that. By creating a unity between the Wind Nation and the Fire Nation we are able to finally bring together the two nations to unify together, to prevent any occurrence from happening again. This peace treaty will hopefully act as a friendship agreement between the two countries, and the two villages.

"To accommodate this treaty, I had prepared this ball, especially, to congratulate the engagement of my niece, Princess Haruka, and the son of the Wind Diamyo, Prince Satoshi, for it is only thanks to this marriage that our plans for peace are possible."

I felt him move beside me, clasping my waist and pulling me into a tight embrace, leading me into a dance. I stared at him, my mouth dropping. I couldn't even comprehend what was going on. It seemed impossible. Preposterous. Absurd. An engagement?

It then dawned on me that I was merely a toy. I was used by the real princess Haruka into taking her place. She must have panicked about getting engaged and made her escape while I, her almost look alike, stood in her place.

It _then_ dawned on me that we were _screwed._

"You don't look pleased," Satoshi frowned, "Are you unpleased?"

"Unpleased?" I can't let him know that I had no idea to just a few moments ago what was going on. "Of course not… I'm just… It's all so sudden…"

He smiled warmly, "It is alright, you have nothing to fear." He tightened his embrace, most likely as an attempt to comfort me. No doubt he senses my hysteria.

"HOLD ON!"

Oh dear…

Our dancing halted suddenly as a certain neon yellow haired boy jumped out of the crowd and pointed angrily at us, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?"

Satoshi moved to stand in front of me, placing his arm in front of me.

"GET AWAY—" Naruto was cut off by Neji and two guards, one of which had an afro, and was suspiciously similar to Guy… He struggled violently against them, and started to perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but Guy knocked him out. He breathed a deep sigh of relief, then turned and bowed to Lady Aruna. "Please forgive this young man, we were unaware that a commoner had entered the premises."

He picked up the boy and carried him out, closely followed by Neji. As they past, Guy didn't even look at me, but Neji's eyes flicked towards me, an irritated and worried look crossing his face, but it was gone as fast as he was.

I looked towards the stadium, and saw that Lady Aruna was standing completely still, even at this distance; I could see that her eyes were completely still, except that they were gazing quite intently at me. When our eyes met, her eyes narrowed slightly, her chin lifting up a fraction of a centimeter.

She knew.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I really am fine," I said, for the hundredth time as Satoshi fussed over my well being.

"Are you sure?" he didn't sound convinced, "It must have been quite frightening for you."

Actually I'm quite used to it, thank you very much. Well, under those circumstances it was quite frightening, although what I am frightened most at right now is what Lady Aruna is going to do to me.

"Lady Haruka should return to her room now." A stern voice said behind us.

Satoshi and I turned around to see Lady Aruna standing behind us. She snapped her fan open, but didn't make any movement, "Is that a problem, my Lord?"

Satoshi looked like he was going to object, but I suppose even he didn't have the audacity to stand up to Lady Aruna, because after a few moments his eyes flicked to the side and he said, "Of course, my Lady." He turned to me, taking my hand in his, "My Lady, I hope to see you tomorrow?" Without thinking, I nodded, and he kissed my hand, his lips barely touching my skin but it was still enough to make the hairs on my back tingle. He bowed to both myself and Lady Aruna, and then dismissed himself out of the corridor.

"Follow me." She said, turning around and walking down the hall. I followed closely, but not too close. I didn't want to get in trouble again. She turned sharply into a room, and ordered the servants to leave so it was empty. "Guard the door. Make sure no one hears." She ordered her attendant. He bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him.

After a moment of silence, Lady Aruna spoke. "You are quite the little actress."

I blushed and looked down at my hands: they were shaking. "I… I'm sorry!" I said, looking up at her, before my eyes returned to my hands, "She was… I didn't realize… I had no idea…"

"You don't have to apologize."

"Huh?" I looked up in surprise.

A wryly smile creased her lips. "You convinced everyone in that room, including myself, that you were my niece. The only suspicious thing was your peaceful aptitude. Of course, that wasn't the real giveaway…" She reached out and touched the necklace Lady Tsunade gave me, "This…" she murmured, "Do you realize how valuable this is?"

I blinked, "It is?" I mean, I know that it's valuable, but valuable for the sister of the fire lord to have that wishful look on her face?

"This necklace… proves that you are…"

"It was a gift," I said, "Nothing more. It proves nothing about me."

"On the contrary," she said, "Just by wearing it, and you've been… regardless…The real Haruka would never have conceded to dancing the prince." She frowned slightly, "Or if she had he would have had some broken toes."

I stifled a laugh.

"Don't get cocky," she snapped, "Don't think you can just waltz away without solving this problem."

"Problem?"

She closed her eyes, "I'm afraid that you have, while impersonating the princess, agreed to marry the prince."

"Me?"

"Not _you_. The princess." She opened her eyes and glared slightly at me. "The real reason the princess was sent here was to meet the prince of whom they were considering a peace engagement."

"But I don't understand," I said, confused, "I thought you would have wanted a peace arrangement."

"Of course I do," she said, "But that's just the point."

"What is?"

She sighed, "You're not the princess, and although from far away you may resemble her enough to fool someone with bad eyes such as myself, the prince will surely notice that his bride is not the same person as tonight." She sighed yet again, "Of course, that _is_ if we can find the princess."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I had no idea what was going on."

"No, but I had a clue." She rolled her eyes skeptically, "That girl… I should have known better. She always gets her way… No matter, I've already sent out scouts looking for her. We'll find her by morning. That," she narrowed her eyes, "Is not the problem here—can it be that you really can't fathom the magnitude of this situation?" she looked exasperated.

"Well," I said, "The prince doesn't know that I'm not the princess… and he agreed… which means that he'll eventually have to find out that I'm not really the princess… so what's so bad about that? I mean, I feel sorry for him for being deceived like this, but this way he will agree to the peace arrangement without having to meet the princess, whom I doubt would have agreed readily to the whole thing." I took a deep breath. Whoa, it's hard to speak so much without breathing! Not to mention I was trying to sound smart… sigh…

"That's the problem," she flicked her fan shut, "The prince didn't agree to marry _her_!"

"But—"

"Do you realize what an insult this is the Land of Wind?"

"But—"

"Not to mention a personal insult to Prince Satoshi…" She murmured irritably.

"Ok," I said, putting up my hand, "I totally understand how this is insulting to them, but you had me fool the _people who live here_ by pretending to be the princess entering the fortress. How is this any different?"

"Do you really think the prince will agree to the arrangement when he realizes that the princess he agreed to marry isn't the real princess?"

"Ah… he'll be mad so he'll break it off…" I said, the situation dawning on me, "That would be bad for Fire and Wind relations…"

"I'm sure he'll be… _upset_," She said, raising an eyebrow, "But I'm not sure if it'll be because you deceived him."

I stared blankly at her, "Then what's the problem?"

She gritted her teeth, "You're skull must be made of rock," she said, "You don't get anything, do you?"

Ouch… This woman knows where to strike…

"Don't you see that the prince agreed to marry _you_?"

I stared at her, slowly working it out in my head, "So… what you're saying is that… he agreed to marry the pauper instead of the princess so when he finds out… that I'm not the princess… he'll break off the engagement… because he doesn't want to marry the real princess… he…" my eyes widened, "Don't tell me…!"

"That's correct," She sighed, "Normally it would have been fine if you masqueraded as the princess at a ball, but since the prince was here… what a mess…"

"Especially since I have to return tomorrow…" I said.

"What? Absolutely not." She snapped, "You're staying here."

"Wha—"

"Don't complain," she said, "You put yourself into this situation, and you're getting yourself out."

"By myself?" I whispered, paling.

"Who else is going to tell the prince?" She sighed, "Go to bed."

"No…" I said, putting my hand up, "How about I just tell the prince tonight? That way he won't have as much time to think about being engaged to me."

"Do what you wish, just _think_ before you act." She turned around.

"Hold on!" I said.

"What?" she snapped, stopping but not turning around.

"There's something I just realized. The prince never _did_ agree to the engagement!"

"What are you talking about?" She asked, glancing at me over her shoulder.

"He never said or signed anything!"

"Of course not. Those are the final arrangements that would have happened tomorrow. However, after the announcement, he danced with you. It was like… a personal agreement. An emotional agreement. Does that make sense to you?"

"So… it's like he was saying to everyone present that he agreed?"

"Yes."

"Crap…" I muttered, this will make things more complicated. This means that he actually really, _really_ agreed to marry me. _Me._ As in, Grace, _me_. Not the princess.

Oh _crap_.

And the worst part is he'd totally recognize that the real princess wasn't me. If only we were identical we would have this problem.

I walked out the door and caught one of the servants walking by, "Could you please take me to Prince Satoshi's chamber?"

The servant blushed slightly and bowed, before turning around and slowly shuffling down the hall. Why did she blush…? Did she think? Oh God… I just realized how inappropriate it is for me to visit the man of whom I'm practically engaged to at this time of night….

No wonder Lady Aruna seemed to disapprove.

_I_ even disapprove.

Ok, so maybe this wasn't the best choice of action. I should just wait till morning. That's right, "Excuse—"

"We're here…" the servant mumbled, bowing and then shuffling off.

"Oh…" I said, turning and smiling shyly at the guard, "Uh… I suppose I'll jus—"

"Is there something wrong?" the Prince's voice was heard from behind the screen. This part of the palace was traditional Japanese so the door was just… probably paper, actually. Meaning he can hear everything.

Oh dear.

I can't escape.

"Excuse me, my Lord," the guard said, "Princess Haruka is here."

There was shuffling inside the room, and I could hear someone walking quickly towards the door. I set my feet apart slightly, ready for anything. I'll just tell him as soon as he opens the door, that way I can just get it—

He opened the door and stared down at me for a moment.

I opened my mouth to speak, but was struck dumb for a moment.

He was… shirtless…

I was… speechless.

"Princess!" He exclaimed, "What brings you to my chambers at this time of night? Is something bothering you? Is it that disreputable boy from earlier?"

"I…" I started, trailing off. I just need to look at his face and tell him. I tore my eyes away from his chest and looked up at his face and was reminded how attractive he was. Mentally slapping myself to wake myself up, I said, "I just came to tell you… uh…" What was it that I was trying to say again? This guy looks like a freakin' model! Do you know how hard it is to say 'no, I don't want undying attention from you' to a person who looks like they just jumped out of a photo shoot? "I just wanted to wish you goodnight!"I finally got out, "I wasn't able to properly able to say goodnight when Aunt interrupted, so… um… I hope…"

He smiled, "You came here, all flustered, just to finish saying goodnight?"

No. "Yes…" I murmured.

"That's…" he leaned towards me.

My eyes widened. Don't tell me he's going to… I stepped backwards, "Well, I should get going, Aunt Aruna will be suspicious if I don't return soon." I turned around and started walking away.

"Wait!" he called.

I stopped and turned around.

"Will I be able to see you tomorrow?" he asked, hopeful.

I smiled, then turned around and walked quickly away.

Is it just me or did I just make the situation worse?

"You may go." I said, dismissing my servants as I entered the room, "I'll undress un my own."

The bowed and hurried out.

"Ok, you can come out now," I called.

The three ninja stepped out from the shadows.

"Whoa," I said, "What if I hadn't guessed that you guys were in here and I started actually undressing?"

"Grace…" Guy murmured, "Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?"

My hearts skipped a beat, "With the village?"

"When they hear about it, yes, but here, now? How are you going to get out of this mess?" he asked.

"That's what I want to know!" Naruto yelled, "Grace! Why did you marry him?"

Neji, Guy and I stared at him. "Marry him?" I asked, "I didn't marry him you loony head!"

"B…but that woman…"

"Was merely announcing that Grace is _going_ to marry him. Or, more accurately, the princess is going to marry him." Neji interrupted.

"Oh…" Naruto sighed in relief, "That's ok then. So, are we going to pack up and leave tonight or tomorrow morning?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips, "Unless you plan to leave without me, I can't leave until I've fixed the situation."

"She's right," Guy sighed. "I suppose we'll have to wait till tomorrow noon. Grace," he looked at me, "Do you believe you'll be able to fix it by then?"

"I think so…" I said.

"I know this must be a difficult situation to get out of," Guy said, "But we _must_ return to the village soon."

"I understand," I sighed, "I'll do it in the morning as soon as I can."

Neji frowned, "Grace," he said, "How exactly are you planning on telling the prince?"

"Right out front," I said, "I'll… go on a walk or something so we're alone and then I'll tell him."

Neji raised an eyebrow, "Will it be more successful then what just happened?"

My mouth dropped, my eyes widening, "You were watching me?!" I shrieked.

"Keep your voice down," Guy hissed, "You don't want to alert anyone."

"Oops, sorry," I said. "Well, I'll go to sleep now, if you don't mind," I said, glaring at Neji.

"Right," Naruto said, following me to the bed, "I'm sleepy too."

Neji grabbed him by the shoulder, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Going to sleep?"

"Where?"

"With… what? You jealous?"

Neji rolled his eyes, "Come on," he said, pulling Naruto out of the room.

"I really wouldn't have minded," I muttered as I started undressing. Wait a second… "Guy! Get out of here!"

"There's something I need to discuss with you." Guy said, serious.

My eyes widened. I've never seen Guy so serious before, "What is it?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A knock on the door.

"Sasuke?" The door creaked open as Sakura turned the knob and pushed, "Are you awake?" She stepped in and walked towards the back of the room, where Sasuke's bed was. "Sasuke…?"

She peered around the curtain and saw Sasuke sitting, staring into space. The same position he was in when Lady Tsunade first removed the genjutsu from him.

"Sasuke…" Sakura whispered, softly, "You need to sleep…"

She walked to the window and drew the curtain across it, then walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder, "You can rest, you know? You need to sleep."

It was as if she weren't there.

"Grace and Naruto come back tomorrow," Sakura said, "You'll be able to see Grace again! Didn't you hear from Lady Tsunade? Grace is fine! She's not hurt at all! In fact, Lady Tsunade says she's doing great! She even won a necklace! I think…" She smiled, "There's nothing to be down about, ok? Lady Tsunade said Grace and Naruto are coming back soon, isn't that great?"

He didn't move, not even his eyes moved from their emotionless gaze at the nothing in front of him.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked pleadingly.

His eyes flicked towards her. "Don't anymore…" he said, his voice so hoarse that it was barely audible.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Don't… say that name anymore." He breathed. "If you ever say that name again… I'll…"

Sakura blinked. _What is he talking about?_

He returned his gaze to nothing, "Don't ever say the name 'Naruto' around me again."

"Wha… you're telling me it could start a war?" I asked, aghast.

"I'm just saying be wise how you tell the prince," Guy said, "You don't want to create unnecessary… ill will between the Fire Nation and the Wind Nation."

"You should have mentioned this before…" I muttered.

"I had no idea of the situation." Guy said, sighing, "No one did. Lady Aruna left it out of the request, obviously not wanting the village to catch wind of it before it became set in stone."

"This will piss off the Village Elders…" I said, shuddering.

"You think?" Guy sighed, "Regardless, you must resolve the issue by noon tomorrow, do you understand?"

"Yes," I said, I looked up at him as he laid a hand on my shoulder. I recoiled in slight fear.

"Don't be afraid, young one," he said, dramatically, tears flowing from his eyes, hence my fear. "These matters may be serious but do not be afraid! I will stand by you as the pillar of youth! Together we will overcome these obstacles!"

"Yeah—thanks," I said, removing his hand. Seriously, give it to Guy to act all serious and then start crying the next because of 'youth'. Jeez… "I'll do my best… now, can you go? I'm really tired…"

"Of course, good luck!" he said, flashing me a smile before disappearing.

"That guy could star in a dental commercial," I muttered, flopping on my bed and closing my eyes.

Why on earth do I always get myself in such awful situations?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Lady Haruka… please wake up…"

My eyes drifted open to see two worried maids looking at me. "What time is it?" I asked.

"Nearly ten o'clock—"

"What?" I exclaimed, jumping up, "That's horrible—" I yelled as I fell forward. Darn it, I forgot I wasn't wearing any shoes _or_ my brace.

Crap…

I looked up and saw the two maids stare in horror at my foot, probably wondering what on earth happened to it. "Don't… ah…" this is bad, I covered it quickly with my dress, "Please don't look at it," I murmured, "It's not…"

"Don't worry," they jumped into action, "It's nothing… eh…"

"That's right!" the other one assured me, "We won't speak a word!"

"Thank you," I said, chuckling inwardly, "Now, I _must_ see the prince—now. Can you help me get dressed?"

After a few minutes of rushed dressing I exited the room. Now I must go see the prince and convince him not to marry me. Wait… no, all I have to do is tell him I'm not the real princess and he'll marry the other one. Speaking of which…

Has she returned yet?

"Excuse me," I said to the guard of the prince's room, "Is Lord Satoshi in right now?"

"I'm afraid not—he went to the stables."

Why on earth did he go to the stables? I kept my irritation in and thanked the man before setting out for the stables.

I don't know where they are…

"Excuse me," I said, politely to a servant, "Could you lead me to the stables?"

The servant bowed respectfully and then led the way to the stables. He bowed again when we reached them, and then scurried off. The servants here always seem to be in such a rush. They sure take their jobs seriously. Then again, they are working for royalty.

"Ok, so here's the deal," I muttered to myself, "I just walk up to him and tell him the truth. Don't waste time. Got it…" I stepped through the large door and into the stables.

Whoa… so many horses! I'm in heaven… I just want to go and ride—there's the prince! My attention snapped towards the prince, who was grooming a horse near the end of the stable.

Should I yell and get his attention, or just walk over—but what if he doesn't see me and he spooks? Wait… he's not a horse so it shouldn't be a problem… but still… What should I do… oh no… now I'm getting cold feet…

"SATOSHI!" I shrieked.

My hand slapped against my mouth in shock.

Why did I do that? I'm such an idiot! I just reacted without thinking! Now he's going to…

Startled, Satoshi stepped out of the stall and stared at me in shock, probably as much shock, if not more, than what I'm in now. "I… uh…" I rushed over to him, but then stopped halfway and bit my lip, "Um… that was an accident!" I said, "I didn't mean to yell your name I just didn't know whether I should say I was there or come over here but I didn't want to startle you so I just acted without thinking and yelled your name except I didn't just yell your name I sort of screamed it but I didn't mean to do that—I'm sorry…" I mumbled.

He blinked at me, "So everything is alright?"

"Uh—oh, yeah, everything's fine." I said, is that what he was worried about?

He grinned, "Then all is well." He turned around and entered the stall again. The horse that he was grooming was black with white socks and a white tip on the tail. It also had a white eye patch, which was pretty cool. He continued grooming. "What is it that you needed?" he asked.

"Um… I wanted to talk with you?"

His hand paused, "Talk with me? About what?"

"Well… about…"

"Here," he said, handing me a brush.

"Huh?"

"You can help me while you speak." He said, "It'll give you something to do." He grinned cheekily at me, "Maybe it'll help you relax."

I glared half heartedly at him and snatched the brush from his hand and began brushing the horse, "I'm not sure if I'm doing this right," I said, "I haven't brushed a horse in while."

He walked over to my side of the horse, being careful to pat the horse's head and inform it he was moving. "Here," he said, standing behind me and taking my hand, "You do it like this."

"Ah…" I said, and for a few moments, we stood there. "Oh! That reminds me! I'm supposed to have something to talk to you about!"

He chuckled, "You forgot already?"

"I didn't forget!" I whined, "I just… got distracted."

He walked back over his original side. We brushed in silence for a moment before he glanced at me, "Well, are you going to speak or do I have to jumpstart every conversation?"

He seemed so much more relaxed than he did last night, it was almost as if he were a different person. Speaking of which… "Um, Lord Satoshi?" I began.

"Call me Satoshi." He said.

"Huh?"

"We _are_ getting married, after all," he said, smiling at me, "So there's no need for formality."

"About that…" I said, looking at the brush as I worked, as an excuse not to have to actually look at him, "What do you think about that?"

"About the engagement?" he asked, "I'd say that at first I wasn't keen on the idea of marrying someone I didn't know… but after meeting you—I'm not sure, it just feels right. But you're correct," he said, "I think we should learn more about each other, that way we can understand each other." He looked at me, and I couldn't help but meet his gaze. "I want to learn more about you, Haruka."

I blinked a few times. Even though I knew he was talking to the princess, and not me directly, it still felt so amazing to have him talk to me that way. "I too—" Wait… there's something wrong with this development…

Crap…

"Hold on!" I said, "I'm getting off track. There's something I need to tell you," I said.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"It's about the engagement." I said, "You see…. the truth is—"

"I'd say that's enough," he said, smiling.

"I beg your pardon?" I said, staring at him.

"The grooming, I'd say that's enough." He said, "Why?"

"Oh, _that_," I said, almost laughing, I thought he was saying that to shut me up.

"Do you want to take her out for a ride?" he asked.

"Her?" I asked. For some reason I was expecting it to be a stallion, but I suppose that somewhat of a stereotype, huh?

"Her name is Hoshiko." He explained, "Do you want to ride her?"

Yes. "No." I said, "I mean, I wish I could but I just can't… I mean… It's not that I don't know how to ride, it's just that…"

He smiled, "Would you feel better if I rode with you?"

Yes. "Um…" I said, "I don't think that's such a good idea…"

"Why? What's wrong with riding together?"

There was a rustle above in the hay loft. Probably Naruto trying to come down here and kick Satoshi's ass like he tried last night. I prayed that Neji would be able to control Naruto. "O…ok, then," I said, blushing slightly, "That would be really nice."

He knelt and held out his hands, cupped together.

"Hold on," I said, startled, "Aren't you—you know, going to put on a saddle and bridle or something?"

He cocked his head, "There's no need for that," he said, "Hoshiko and I have been riding together for a long time now, there's no need for that if it's just a simple ride."

"But…" I said, "I'm still not sure if…"

"Trust me," he said. "It'll be alright."

"Ok," I said, stepping as lightly as I could into his hand and feeling a rushing sensation in my gut as he propelled me up. I swung my leg around the horse's back, so I could straddle it. Quite a large amount of my leg was exposed, which meant that my shoes were also exposed, and I was thankful that I decided to risk wearing normal shoes. Luckily the shoes covered and supported my whole foot, meaning that they were pretty much as effective as my brace. Maybe I should buy a pair when I return to the village.

Yeah right… they probably cost a fortune.

Satoshi swung over behind me, grabbing me around the waste with his left arm as his other tapped Hoshiko's side. He clicked with his tongue and Hoshiko's ears flicked and she walked out of the stall and down the stable's hall, towards the exit.

I felt Satoshi's legs move every once in a while as he nudged Hoshiko's sides with his feet and legs, directing her where to go. "Amazing," I said, "You're such a skilled rider!"

"Thank you," he said, "You need to relax, though, you're too tense. It's making Hoshiko uneasy."

"Um… I'll try…" I said, attempting to relax, but ever notice that when you need to relax it's always harder to actually do so? I leaned back into him and relaxed, but it dawned on me that I was _leaning_ on him, like, _snuggling…_ I leaned forward, but his arm pushed me slightly so I was leaning against him again.

"I'm going to go faster," he said. He clicked a few times and nudged her with his left foot. She veered to the left and began to pick up the pace.

As she transitioned from a trot to a canter, the rhythm of her body switched to a rolling motion. I completely forgot about feeling awkward, or about telling Satoshi the truth. The wind whipped my face, and I felt so free.

Hoshiko suddenly leapt into a gallop and Satoshi tightened the grip on me to keep me from falling off.

It felt like a thousand years that we were riding, but I was bitterly disappointed when we slowed to stop. Satoshi slid off and then took me by the waste and lifted me off and set me on the ground. "How was it?" he asked.

"Incredible!" I said, "I've never experience something so amazing before!"

He smiled, "When we're married, I'll give you a horse from my father's stable. We breed the best horses in all the Five Nations."

I didn't doubt it. Wow… I can't wait—hold on… "Now," I said, "Can I speak with you?" I asked, "There's something important I need to speak about.

"What is it?" he asked, slapping Hoshiko's side. She whinnied happily and trotted off.

"She won't wonder off?" I asked, watching her.

"No," he said, "She won't go far." He sat down, "So what was it that you wanted to speak of?"

"Um…" I said, sitting down next to him, "It's about our engagement."

"What about it?" he sounded worried about something, "You don't want—"

"It's not that!" I exclaimed, "It's just…"

"You're nervous?" he asked.

"Well," I said, "I'm just… I'm not who you think I am."

There. I got it out.

It's finished.

I looked up at him to see him staring at me, as if I had two heads. "I don't understand," he said, "What do you mean you're not who you said you are?"

"I mean that I'm not Princess Haruka." I said, sitting up straighter. Might as well say it all at once. "My name is Grace Sarutobi. I'm a resident of the Hidden Leaf Village. I was employed by Lady Aruna to pose as the princess as she entered the city yesterday for her security. However, the princess convinced me to pose as her at the ball last night, and I agreed. So you see, I'm not the princess, I'm someone completely different."

His expression didn't change. He was still staring at me in complete and utter loss, his moth slightly slack. No, he wasn't staring at me. He was staring through me, his eyes off focus.

It was almost comical. "Now, that's not to say that it's the Land of Fire's fault for this—you see, it's really just my fault for agreeing to it—so I implore that you still agree to the engagement because it's the good of our countries and I would feel awful if the peace treaty didn't work out just because of me—and I know from experience how awful it was when the Sand Village attacked my village—because I was there—and I would hate it if there was a war between the two villages and if there was anything that the two countries could do to make a peace treaty that would be great, right?"

He didn't say anything, his expression the same.

"So… can you say something?" I asked.

"You…" he said, then he blinked, shaking his head slightly, "You're not Haruka?"

"No."

"You're… Grace… Sarutobi?"

"Yes."

"That's… you're related to the late Hokage?" he asked.

"I'm his adopted granddaughter." I said.

"I see…" he looked deep in thought. "Alright."

"Alright?" I asked, "What about this is alright?"

He blinked at me, "I'm saying that I'm ok with this situation."

"You're ok with it?" I breathed a sigh of relief. "Ok, Lady Aruna will be so pleased. Now we need to go back and tell her that the engagement is still on with Princess Haruka—"

"I'm not talking about that," he said, "I'm not going to marry the princess."

"What?" I asked, paling.

"I'm not going to continue the engagement with the niece of the Fire Lord." He said.

"What?" I repeated, most likely still paling, "But then… this situation isn't alright!"

"Why?" he asked, "I have no intention of marrying the princess but that does not mean there can' t be a peace treaty between the two nations."

"Oh?" I asked, confused, "But then… if it's… who?" I asked finally, flabbergasted.

"You."

I didn't respond. I just stared at him, much the same as the way he stared at me before when I told him the truth.

"It's the truth," he said, turning towards me, "You're the granddaughter of the Hokage, so you're noble enough that they should allow it—and it's perfect, you're from the village that got attacked, why should I marry anyone _but_ you? Besides," he leaned towards me, "Why would I marry the princess when I've already fallen in love with you?"

I just stared at him, "What?" I said. What?

What?

WHAT?

WHHHAAAATTT??

"What?" I repeated, "Love? Me? What?"

"You don't feel the same?" he asked, leaning closer. I leaned farther away.

"But we just met!" I said, "How can I fall in love that fast?!"

My back hit the ground, "I knew from the moment I saw you that you were the one," he said, "I don't care if you're the princess or not, you're the woman I'm going to marry!"

"That's—really flattering, _really_," I said, putting my hands on his chest and attempting to push him away, "But—remember what I said about getting to know each other first—maybe we should take that to heart!"

"You don't want to marry me?" he said, his eyes flashing.

"No! Not that! I mean, no I don't _not_ want to marry you!" I said, searching for words, "It's not that I _don't_ want to marry you it's just that I'm… you know, things like this take time, and I'm not doubting that you love me, because I don't know what's going on in your head but I can say for myself that I need to know more about a person before I can just say that I love them. And maybe!" I continued, "Maybe I'll love you too—maybe I _do_ love you! But I want to get to know you more before I agree to marry you."

He contemplated this, then nodded, "That makes sense." He leaned in so his mouth was at my ear, "Then I will wait for you to fall in love with me." He said, "And then we'll marry."

He's… not listening…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Thank you." I said as he lifted me off the horse. We had just returned to the stable. He set me on the ground, and I felt a little woozy, he didn't set me down right and I was off balance. It's hard to balance without toes, you know. I turned away from him, "I have to return to my village now." I began to walk away, not looking at him. I didn't want to make this situation worse. Maybe if I just act cold and indifferent he won't bother anymore. Yes! That might work…

"You will think about it?" he asked.

"Think about what?" I said, turning around to face him.

He took my arm and pulled me closer. My eyes widened as he leaned in.

_To be continued…_

I know that I promised that I'd finish the Cinderella arc in one chapter but I thought that I might as well get it over with… besides, it's pretty much over (I mean, how much worse can it get for Grace?!)

Ok, I won't answer that question, the possibilities are endless.

Oh, and someone brought it to my attention that this fan fiction is somewhat like a Shoujo manga…

OMG you're right! O.O

Unfortunately this Cinderella arc has 'Shoujo', 'Stereotypical' and 'Mary-sue' written all over it, and for that I apologize. This is for those readers who like a bit of this fluffy stuff, but as soon as they return to the village it will return to the way it was, and I'll work on making it less… shoujo like… o.O

Also, if there are any mistakes in this chapter (plot, spelling, grammar, doesn't flow, or 'that part just sound plain stupid' please PM me or review this story and tell me so I fix it, especially the 'that part just sounds stupid' because with Mary-sue chapters like this I'm totally at a loss at how to write it so I feel like it just comes out sappy)

Also, **I'm interested in getting a BETA reader for Truthspeaker**, or just people to read a chapter before it's posted and tell me if anything needs to be fixed, because I'm going to be going through and editing the previous chapters and future chapters, and I have a few people who are interested, but if anyone else is, PM me.

**FOR PEOPLE WHO SKIPPED:**  
Basically, Grace told Prince Satoshi that she wasn't the real Princess Haruka, and he told her that he didn't care and wanted to marry _her_, which caused her great stress and panic. Basically, he has poor listening skills.

Anyway, look forward to the next chapter!


	60. Bonus Chapter: Be my Valentine?

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: Be my Valentine?

WORDS: 7, 306

WARNING: OOCness in unimaginable places and characters that are usually emotionally inept at realizing that people like them are suddenly the ones liking people. Oh, and alternate universes with cliché endings and badly named restaurants which are seemingly low on staff, who must have been hated by their mothers because they don't have names. AKA: Valentine's day.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters that are already copyrighted.

BEFOREWORD: I'll save the long strenuous apology for updating so late for the next chapter (which is almost finished but needs revision. I decided to work on this one first since Valentine's day won't wait).

IMPORTANT! This chapter takes place in an alternate universe, so some character personalities/relationships are different than in Truthspeaker.

Also, the POV starts off with Sakura, and then switches to Grace, just to clear up some confusion.

ENJOY!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I yawned as I walked through the door. The classroom was pretty much full, although no one was in their designated seats. They were milling around and chatting, which is to be expected, since the first bell isn't supposed to ring for another ten minutes. Not to mention the fact that our homeroom teacher usually doesn't arrive till homeroom is over.

"Sakura!"

I looked in the direction of my friend, Tenten, and made my way over to her. "Hey Tenten," I greeted her, "Did you do the math homework last night?"

"Yeah," Tenten chuckled wryly, "But I didn't understand it at all."

"I am _so_ excited!"

"Why?" Tenten and I asked in unison, as we turned our heads to see Ino walk up to us.

"Because," Ino smirked, "Today, in gym, we're starting our _swimming_ unit. This means that I can _totally_ show off my new bikini bod to Sasuke."

"That's a good plan," I said, grinning sarcastically, "Except for the fact that you won't be the only girl there."

"I'm the only good looking one." Ino said.

My eyebrow twitched. "Ok," I said, "Look at it this way. _Grace_ will be there."

This time it was Ino's turn for her eyebrow to twitch. "That little…" she sighed, "Who the hell does she think she is, waltzing into our school and stealing the hottest boy in town? Huh?"

"She didn't just waltz into school," Tenten pointed out, "She's been here for a few years now. I'd say since freshman year, right?"

"Yeah, sometime during first term," I agreed.

I can see where Ino was coming from, though. Even _I _was obsessed with Sasuke for most of my elementary and middle school years, and when high school started, and the new girl came, I couldn't help but feel jealous when Sasuke started to show an interest in her. Actually, I hated her until I got to know her.

But now I have new plans…

I caught Tenten's eye, and we chuckled, our thoughts in unison.

Our brief amusement was cut off by Ino's squealing. Sasuke had just entered the room. Tenten and I rolled our eyes as Ino rushed over to him. Her obsession, as I mentioned before, was understandable. Top of the class, the heart throb of school, and an attitude to match it all. Plus he's wealthy. His only flaw is that the one girl he wants is the one girl he can't get.

Ironic, huh?

Sasuke ignored Ino and walked over to us. "Is Grace here yet?"

"As you can plainly see," Tenten said, waving around the room with a bored air, "She and Naruto are the last one's to arrive… _again_."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

I shot Tenten a warning look, and she gave me a 'sorry-I-couldn't-help-it' shrug.

The door slid open with a snap as two students rushed in, out of breath. "Oh my God, I thought we were going to be late!" the girl said, breathing heavily.

"What's the big deal?" the boy next to her laughed, "Who cares if we're late?"

"I do!" the girl snapped, "I won't let you ruin my record!"

"You were late plenty of times last year," the boy whined as she grabbed his ear and pulled roughly.

"It was always your fault!" she growled. She blinked and turned to see us staring at them. "Sakura! Tenten!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, hurrying over, "How are you?"

"Good, how are you?" I asked, my eyes flickering nervously at Sasuke, who looked livid at seeing Naruto and Grace walked in together.

"Good—tired," Grace admitted, "Naruto wanted to play monopoly while playing twister last night and it took _forever_."

"That's because we waited till ten to start playing," Naruto said. "We had to finish dinner. I have to say, though, those brownies you made were really good. I think Konohamaru and I finished them all off!"

"I was supposed to bring them into class today," Grace sighed, "But when I took them out of the oven I realized I forgot to grease the pan again…"

"Who cares if I had to get them out of the pan with a chisel," Naruto consoled, "They were still good!"

"You still could have saved_ some_ for people here." Grace said, poking his side in mock annoyance.

"I don't want to share your cooking!" Naruto muttered, "It's mine and mine alone." He grinned mischievously, "I bet Sasuke would _kill_ to taste it sometime!"

Sasuke's eye twitched yet again.

"So did Naruto sleep over your house?" Ino asked.

I cringed. She just had bring that up, didn't she?

"Yeah," Naruto said, "I mean, it was probably three or four in the morning when we finally finished playing the game, so I just slept over."

"You didn't have to sleep in my bed." Grace muttered, "It's not made for two people."

"We were playing in your room and I didn't feel like going to the guest bedroom."

"Konohamaru's room is one room down—there's even a door connected the two!" Grace exclaimed, "And he has two beds!"

"Why are you so angry now? You didn't complain last night."

"I was too tired to complain." Grace muttered, "Every time I started to drift off you'd put and ice cube down my back."

Naruto snickered, "Your face was priceless every time!"

"Wait a second," Ino said, interrupting with a sly smile. "So you two slept in the same bed?"

Naruto and Grace blinked at her in mirrored stupidity. "Yeah…" Grace said slowly, "What about it?"

"I practically live at Grace's house," Naruto said, "So I've slept with her loads of times."

"That sounds wrong and you know it," Grace snapped, "It's not like that—"

"Wow, you two must be… an _item_, you know?" Ino said, "You should go out for Valentine's!" She grinned, "Don't you think so too, Sasuke?"

The bell rang.

Tenten's hand went to her forehead.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, "Grace and me are like brothers."

"Hey," Grace snapped.

"Alright," Kakashi-sensei said, walking in with a book open. He's ironically on time today. Must be a first since freshman year. I remember first day of school freshman year he didn't even show up. Not until half way through last block during English. "Settle down. Everyone in their seats."

Grace sat down in her seat next to mine, and Naruto sat on her desk.

Sasuke reluctantly sat down in his seat behind her, glaring at Naruto.

"Naruto," Kakashi-sensei said, "I said get in your seat."

"Oh, sorry," Naruto smirked, sending Sasuke a taunting grin. He slid off the desk and onto Grace's lap, causing her to grunt with the weight.

"Thanks Naruto," she muttered, "I think you've lost weight."

Sasuke stood up abruptly, but whatever he was about to do was cut off by Kakashi-sensei, "Naruto, unless you get in your actual seat, you're going to have detention for the next week."

"But I already have detention for the next week." Naruto pointed out. "In fact, the Old Hag said I have detention for the rest of the year."

"Don't make me put Guy-sensei in charge of overseeing your detention." Kakashi-sensei threatened.

Naruto was in his seat so fast it was almost frightening, almost as if he was a ninja.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Uh," I said… "You know, Ino… You're supposed to wear the school suit."

"I'm not losing to you, Grace." Ino said, smirking at me as she flaunted her scantly clad body.

"But a bikini isn't the best for racing…" I pointed out, "It'll fall off as soon as you dive in."

"Look, don't sweat the details," Ino said as she passed. "All that matters is that Sasuke will notice me over anyone else. Even you." She said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why would Sasuke notice me?" I muttered.

"Look," Sakura said as she closed her locker, "You shouldn't say stuff like that."

I sighed. "Whatever. You're Cinderella idea of Sasuke and I is about as farfetched as… anything."

"You're an idiot." Tenten muttered, closing her locker. "Why can't you just accept that Sasuke is over the moon for you?"

"Because he's _not_." I said, closing my locker and tossing my towel over my shoulder, "We're just friends—if you can even call us that." I walked to the exit of the locker rooms. "I don't think I've even had an actual conversation with him—besides what's necessary for class. See you outside!"

That wasn't actually true. At first, a while ago, back in freshman year, when I first started school here, I had a crush on Sasuke, but it soon wore off. He was always nice to me so I didn't totally forget about it, not to mention the fact that Naruto and he have a slightly friendly rivalry, and the fact that if you have ears you can't _not_ hear about him, he's the school prodigy after all.

But that's not the only reason I've started thinking about him more—oh crap, that's the reason, I already jumped to the punch line… well, I'm started thinking about him more. Even though he sits behind me every day I don't know anything about it, besides rumors and what little you find out by simple conversation. I find myself wanting to know him more.

I wonder if my old died out crush on him is being rekindled… or maybe it's just the prospect of Valentine's day in two days.

I reached for the handle but the door swung open. "Grace!" Naruto shouted, "Youhavetocomequickly! They'rechoosingteamsalready!"

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed, throwing her at him, "Don't come into the girl's locker room!"

"Ow—that hurt!" Naruto yelled, looking up and blushing a deep red color at the sight of a half naked Sakura.

Sakura growled threateningly.

"Come on Naruto!" I said, recovering from momentary shock before grabbing him and dashing away before Sakura could dismember him.

"So what were you saying?" I asked him, once we were a safe distance.

"Hey, you're pretty cute in a suit!" Naruto said, winking at me playfully, "Sasuke will be happy!"

"Don't you start," I muttered, "Besides, with Ino in a bikini—"

"Now _that_ was hot!" Naruto grinned, "I just wish Sakura would wear a bikini!"

"You're a pervert." I muttered.

"Guilty as charged—"

"Good!" Guy-sensei yelled as we rounded a corner and reached the pool area. "You've arrived. Where are Sakura and Tenten?"

"They're coming." I said. I glanced around. People were choosing teams.

"People separate into groups of three." Guy-sensei yelled. "Sakura and Tenten will have to pair up with whoever is left."

"Great," I muttered, "I wanted to pair up with them…"

"Look on the bright side," Naruto shouted happily, "With me on your team there's no way we can lose! I've set it all up! Sasuke!" he yelled. "Join our team!"

Sasuke glanced up, glaring in Naruto's direction. However, even he could see the benefits of joining our team. Naruto and Sasuke are the most athletic boys in our class (with the exception of Lee), and I'm on the swim team. Also, he'd probably use any excuse to get away from Ino.

He pulled himself away from Ino's grasp and walked over to us. I felt my cheeks heat up when I realized his eyes were on me.

Naruto chuckled next to me, obviously noticing Sasuke's eyes.

That pervert. He did this on purpose.

"Great!" Guy-sensei said, walking over to us to write our names on his clipboard, "With the three of you on a team I can almost guarantee you the winners!"

"Don't jump to conclusions!" Kiba yelled from a little ways off, "I'm going to kick your asses!"

"How vulgar," I muttered, "Our class is probably the most competitive in the school."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto yelled, "Just you watch, dog boy, you're going to be swallowing my bubbles!"

"That'll be hard to do when I come in first place!" Kiba retorted.

I turned to Sasuke and gave me a tired smile, "Why are we always stuck with idiots?" I asked him.

He smiled back. He began saying something, but was cut off by Guy-sensei. "ALRIGHT!" he yelled, "Everyone! We're starting with relays! Get up to the blocks! First round with start in sixty-two seconds!"

"Why sixty-two seconds?" I pondered.

"Don't ask me." Sasuke muttered, "I don't understand his logic."

"If it even is logic." I muttered. "Ok, Naruto, you go first and start the pace, I'll go second, and Sasuke, you anchor."

Sasuke nodded while Naruto stepped onto the block. He turned and grinned at Kiba, "Ready to eat bubbles?" he asked.

Kiba bared his teeth in a grin, "That's just what I was going to say!"

"Hey Hinata!" I said, ignoring the two idiots on the blocks and turning to look at the person behind Kiba.

Hinata, a very shy girl who is just _adorable_, smiled at me shyly. She's one of those girls that has an amazing body but just doesn't get noticed by guys because she's so shy. She stood awkwardly, her hands crossed over her chest. She's just so cute! She also has a huge crush on Naruto, although he's too stupid to notice. I'm determined to get them together.

I hate it when people don't realize that people are in love with them.

"GO!" Guy-sensei shouted and the first swimmers dove off the blocks.

"Oh! Crap!" I said, turning. I totally lost track of time. My foot slipped on the wet surface of the pool deck, and I would have fallen if Sasuke didn't grab my shoulders and steady me. "Thanks!" I said, blushing slightly. He's pretty strong. Also, his muscles feel really good on my back—whoa! Totally just crossed the line to pervert land. I got to get on the block! I stepped onto the block, positioning my right foot at the front and my left foot in the back. I arched my back, putting my hands out, waiting for Naruto to come in. He touched. I went.

When I touched the wall and climbed out, Naruto chuckled happily. "Woo!" he shouted, "We're totally going to come in first place! Look at Sasuke go! I knew he was good at something!"

"Sasuke's good at everything," I muttered, watching him swim with… a little more attention than I'm comfortable admitting.

"We're an undefeatable team!" Naruto grinned.

"So that's why you always insist that the three of us—yay! We won!" I shouted happily, "Are paired up with each other?" I asked him. "Good job Sasuke!" I said, bending over and reaching a hand out to him. He pulled himself out of the water. He stood up and smiled.

"Yeah, nice of you to step up the game," Naruto said, frowning seriously at him, "I hope you continue to have this attitude, unlike all the other times that we've been paired up—slacker."

It's kind of cute the rivalry between the two.

"Alright!" I said, "Now it's just individual events. Fun stuff, fun stuff. Well, I'm going over to see the girls. Talk to you later!" I waved and began walking towards Sakura and Tenten, when Naruto reached out and grabbed the strap on my bathing suit, pulling.

"What—let go!" I said, trying to walk away but he held on, keeping me in place. "Let go Naruto!"

"Nooooo…" Naruto said, slowly. I began to panic. That's Naruto's ultra evil voice!

"Let go!" I shouted, trying to get as far away from him as possible. The last time he used this voice it involved strip poker.

"Hey!" Sasuke said, walking over.

Naruto's grin widened.

I wiggled, trying to get out of my grasp. Naruto leaned backwards, pulling me with him. He pulled his hand sharply to the left, causing me to rivet around facing him as he let go. Thank god he let go. Now I can finally stop. Except that I didn't. I kept going.

My eyes widened as I crashed into Sasuke. His foot slipped on the deck because of the impact, but he grabbed me. There was a hushed silence for a moment while I opened my eyes.

I was… lying on top of Sasuke…

Wearing nothing but a bathing suit… and Sasuke was shirtless…

I'm going to kill Naruto!

Sasuke's arms where still wrapped around me, and he was staring at me with a really odd expression on his face. Oh my God he's going to kill _me_!

I scrambled to my feet, and reached a hand out to him. He took it and I helped him to his feet. "I'm really, really sorry!" I apologized, "I'm such a clutz! Oh!" I exclaimed, "You're head's bleeding!"

"Coming through! COMING THROUGH!" Guy-sensei yelled as he charged through the crowd, "Ok, Sasuke, get yourself to the nurse! Grace, you go with him. Naruto! You're dismissed for the rest of class. Head to the principal's office."

"Whaaat?" Naruto groaned.

"Now." Guy-sensei said. "This will teach you that Physical Education is _not_ to be taken lightly! The power of youth is strong and undefeatable but you must _never_ take it lightly!"

The class groaned as they realized they were doomed with yet _another_ long and pointless lecture on the power of youth.

"Come on Sasuke," I said, gently taking Sasuke's arm, "Let's get you to the nurse."

He nodded and we walked out of the pool area and towards the regular entrance. I held the door open and we began walking down the hallway to the nurse's office.

I could tell that Sasuke didn't need to be led, but he didn't take his arm from mine either, and _I_ certainly wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to link arms with him. Whoa… where'd _that_ come from? "Are you sure you're fine?" I asked.

He nodded, "It's nothing really," he said, touching the side of his forehead.

How did he hit the side of his forehead? He must of scraped it on the step of one of the blocks. "I'm really sorry," I said again.

"There's no need to be sorry," he said, looking down at me and then up again, "It's not your fault. I'm just glad you weren't injured."

I blushed slightly. Who knew Sasuke was such a good guy? We reached the entrance to the nurse's office and I knocked.

"Come on in!"

I opened the door and walked in, "Shizune-sensei, Sasuke—what the hell are you doing here?"

"Nice suit, Grace," Ryuichi-sensei grinned happily from his position on the bed, "I'm injured, what does it look like?"

"From what—a broken heart?" I snapped.

Ryuichi-sensei, coach of the Varsity Girl's Swim Team and also a T.A. at the school. He also happens to be my neighbor and a family friend, not to mention my swim coach. Damn him… "You're just a pervert."

"Hey!" he whined, "Even perverts need some healing of love!"

"You just have a thing for the school nurse," I snapped.

His grin proved my statement.

"Oh," Shizune-sensei, the school nurse, walked in from her office, "Oh my, Sasuke, what happened to your forehead?"

"I slipped." Sasuke said.

"Kind of clumsy, aren't you?" Ryuichi said, sitting up. He noticed that Sasuke and I had linked arms. One thing you can say about Ryuichi is that he's very protective of me. Although if that's a good thing I don't know.

"Ryuichi-sensei," Shizune-sensei said, "If you're done here you should probably get back to class—"

"There you are you lazy ass!"

Sasuke and I cringed as the language teacher and Athletics Director, Anko-sensei, charged in.

Ryuichi cringed as well, and smiled nervously at his boss, "Hey… Anko…" he laughed, "Look at the time—we both have classes to go to!" he laughed as he rushed out.

"Trying to get away, huh?" Anko-sensei grinned, "Come back here and I'm show you hell!" she yelled as she dashed after him.

"Those two…" Shizune-sensei laughed, shaking her head. "Ok, Sasuke, sit down on the bed, I'll go get a bandage and disinfectant."

Sasuke and I walked over to the bed and he sat down. "I'm really ok," he said reassuringly.

"But—"

"It's true," Shizune-sensei said, "The cut isn't deep." She turned to me and smiled, "You can go back to class if you want, Grace."

"Are you sure?" I asked, glancing at Sasuke. "Alright then." I walked over to the door and waved at Sasuke before walking out.

"Hey!" Naruto said, grinning, "Nice bandage."

Sasuke glared at him.

We were waiting for the next teacher to arrive.

"How did it feel to have Grace's wet boobs against your chest?" Naruto asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "They feel pretty good, don't they?"

"Naruto…" I growled, "Stop making perverted comments!"

I really wish I wasn't stuck between these two.

"ARLIGHT CLASS!" A tall white haired man walked in, "Time to start your favorite class! Health!"

"*Yeah, yeah," I muttered to Sakura, "We might as well call it 'Porn 101'."

"I heard that!" Jiraiya-sensei yelled. "I don't want to hear any complaints from you!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Now today we're watching a film—"

I raised my hand, "Sensei!" I said, "You do realize it's illegal to show porn on school grounds."

Jiraiya-sensei was also a family friend; in fact, he was an alumni of this high school. He also happens to be a pervert. Actually, I've noticed that a lot of family friends are perverts…

"I told you to shut up!" he snapped, "I can show what I want—not that this is porn!" he laughed, "It's just has some suggestive material!"

"The last time he said that I almost believed in total abstinence." I muttered to Sakura.

"Sasuke's thankful you didn't." Naruto chortled from his seat in front of me.

"I know we're all thinking about how hot watching Grace and Sasuke go at it would be but that's not the lesson today," Jiraiya snapped.

I blushed hot red and glared at the back of Naruto's head as the class erupted into laughter. Seriously! Why the hell does he do that? He's such a pervert!

Sometimes I wonder how I put up with these people…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"YEAH! School's out!" Naruto yelled happily as last bell rang.

"Well," Iruka-sensei said, "I won't give you any homework because it's Valentine's weekend, but _behave _yourselves, ok? Make wise choices—"

"Yeah, whatever," Naruto shouted, causing people to laugh. "Grace," Naruto said, sitting on his desk and facing me, "Where are you going after school?"

"Huh? Probably to pick up Konohamaru and then I might go grocery shopping."

"Food? Good," Naruto said, grinning, "I'm hungry."

"After today you really think you're coming?"

He glanced at me, "I'm not?"

I tried to keep a straight face, but I just couldn't. "Of course you can!"

"Oh!" he said, mock tears welling up in his eyes, "I thought you'd never forgive me!"

"Oh Naruto how could I not!" I exclaimed as he grabbed me into a bear hug.

Someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned to see Sasuke standing there, which isn't much of a surprise since he sits behind me. "Sasuke?" I asked, "Do you need anything?" Wow, I can't believe that he's actually starting a conversation with me. I could feel my heart beat faster.

"Do you—"

"Let's go, Grace!" Naruto said, grabbing my hand and pulling me away and out of the classroom.

"Uh—I'll text you later!" I shouted before Naruto pulled me out of the room.

"I didn't know you had his number," Naruto said as we walked down the halls.

"I don't," I said, "I just said that so it didn't just look like I ran out on him—speaking of which, why did you just pull me away like that? You could have let him finish!"

Naruto ignored the question, "Won't it be more awkward when he never gets your text?"

"That's right!" I said, my eyes widening in horror, "He's going to think I'm ignoring him! I wonder what he was going to say back then." All my chances will be dashed out of the window…

Not that I had a chance to begin with, anyway.

"Probably going to ask you out," Naruto shrugged, and he grinned, "That would be awesome!"

"No it wouldn't." I said, "Sasuke doesn't like me like that! We're not even friends!"

"So?" Naruto asked, "If you were friends that you'd just become friends with benefits."

"I think you're thinking of something else…" I muttered.

"So are we going to pick up Konohamaru?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah," I said, "He wants to go with us to make sure I don't get any vegetables."

"A man after my own heart."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Ugh," Konohamaru, my little eleven year old brother, whined as we walked into our house, "In the end all we _got_ was vegetables."

"I told you this morning that was what we were going to get," I said, "We have everything else."

"I wanted to buy cake." Naruto whined with Konohamaru.

"You two are such babies. Oh," I reached into my coat pocket and took out my cell.

_Do you have Sasuke's number?_ I texted Sakura.

Hopefully she does. I'm assuming so. They're sort of friends, right?

_Why do you want to know?_ _/// _She texted back.

I rolled my eyes and decided to call her, "Yo," I said when she answered.

"_Why do you want to know his number—don't tell me you're going to ask him to the dance!"_ Sakura squealed. I could hear Tenten giggling in the background.

"Don't start rumors," I muttered, "I just told him I'd text him later but I forgot I don't have his number."

"_Yeah, but the fact that you said you'd text him means something."_

"I only said that because he was about to say—Naruto! Put that down!—something and got interrupted when Naruto pulled me out of the classroom."

"_You think he's going to ask you out?"_ Sakura asked, hopeful.

"That's what Naruto said." I said, glancing over to where Naruto and Konohamaru were fighting over cookies. "You haven't been talking to him recently, have you?"

"_So, you and Sasuke are totally going out, right?"_ Sakura asked.

"You're ignoring logic right now, aren't you?"

"_Oh my God!"_ Sakura squealed, _"You guys are gonna' get married—can I be your first born daughter's godmother?" _

"Just give me his number…" I sighed.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I took out my cell again, later, after dinner, and glanced at the small piece of paper that was in my other hand. Sasuke's number was written on it. Should I call him?

I glanced at the clock.

Seven O'Clock. Will he be eating dinner now? Would I be interrupting him?

He's probably not eating with anyone. His parents died in a car crash a few years ago, and from what I've heard he's not on good terms with his older brother for some reason. But still… I don't want to intrude on his privacy…

I'll call in an hour.

I snapped my cell shut and stood up from the table, "Naruto? Konohamaru?"

"We're in here," Came Naruto's voice from Konohamaru's room.

"God, what are they doing?" I muttered as I walked out of the kitchen and down the hall. What exactly they were doing became obvious the closer I got the room. "Playing games again?!" I shouted as I kicked the door open.

"Come _on_!" Naruto shouted, glaring at me and throwing the console at me, "We were in the middle of a game! You made me lose!"

"Whatever," I muttered, "I had to clean up all the dishes because you two are so lazy."

"Whatever," Naruto said, retrieving the console and returning to his spot in front of the TV. "Let us play, woman. Get us desert."

"Damn… fine." I muttered, walking out. "Is Gramps in his study?"

"Yup! Don't forget our desert, Slave!"

Those two… I knocked on Gramp's study door.

"Come in."

I opened the door, "Hi, Grampa. Are you busy?"

"Of course not," Grampa said as I walked in. "I'm never busy for you, you know that."

"Yeah," I said, bashful, "I just like to check and make sure."

My Grandpa used to be the principle of the high school I attend, but that was before my brother and I came to live with him four years ago. Now he's retired. I sat down in a chair. "Um… can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," he said, gazing at me with those old peaceful eyes.

"Well, there's this guy…"

"Sasuke?"

My mouth dropped open, "How did you know?" I asked suspiciously.

"You're friends enjoy talking about you, plus you think out loud a lot." He said, his eye twinkling.

"I'll have to keep an eye on that…" I muttered. "The thing is…" I started.

"You're not sure what to do." He finished.

"Yeah…" I said slowly, "You need to stop doing that it's starting to creep me out."

"Well, do you like him?"

"I don't even know if he likes me!" I exclaimed.

"That's not the question."

"I don't know…" I said, "I mean, I guess… I always thought he was attractive… but I never really paid much thought to it, except for the fact that Naruto and he hate each other and that he's always really nice to me. Other than that, I've never really put much thought into him."

"But recently…"

"But recently," I admitted, "Recently it's been different. I've started thinking about him more and more. I don't know… It's weird. Maybe I like him. I mean, look at today. Today was really different, he might ask me out."

"Are you going to say yes or no?"

It's strange that I can talk to my grandfather about these things, huh? "I don't even know if he will. I'm supposed to call him."

"Why don't you?"

"I… I'm nervous…" I whined. "I've never called a guy besides family…"

"What about Naruto?"

"He's family…"

"Hm… well, why don't you call him, and then whatever happens, happens. Ok?"

"Aright," I said, "Thanks Grandpa."

He motioned for me to come over. I walked over and bent down so he could give my forehead a kiss. "Don't worry," he said, "I've known Sasuke since he was in diapers. You have nothing to fear."

"Thanks," I said again. I opened the door, "Do you want any desert?"

"I always want desert," he said.

I grinned and walked out.

After I make desert, I'm definitely going to call Sasuke!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Well, I didn't call him right after desert. I prolonged the act as long as I could. Actually, I waited till the next night. I busied myself with household chores and needless amounts of cooking as an excuse to not call, but I can't wait too long… right?

I was practically shaking when I looked down at the piece of paper in my hand. "Ok, all I have to do is call him… right?" I dialed the number. My thumb hovered above the little green button. Should I call him?

Naruto barged in, holding a pillow. "Grace! Duck!"

I shrieked as he slammed into me. My cell phone flew out of my hand.

"Crap!" I shouted, struggling to get Naruto off me as he tackled me to the ground. "My cell!"

Naruto glanced up and reached out and picked up the phone. "Hey…" he said, "You're calling Sasuke!" he clicked _send_.

"No…" I gasped horrifically, "Naruto! Give me the phone!"

He chuckled and grabbed my arm with his hand. I couldn't get up because he was sitting on my stomach. And let me tell you, a hundred-sixty pounds of muscle is hard to beat. "Hey Sasuke!" he shouted, "Wha—? Yeah, I'm using Grace's cell—Huh? Yeah I'm at her house right now—Grace and I are actually in the middle of—I'm sitting on her—stop squirming Grace, you're making this really difficult—I can't concentrate when you're moving so much—yeah, I'm just—there's no need to yell—Grace!" he yelled, "How do you expect me to sit on you when you're moving so much? Huh? He hung up…" he glanced at the phone with a peculiar look.

"You…. Idiot!" I yelled, smacking him over the head, "Why'd you have to do that?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, glancing at me with the same look, "He's the one who hung up on me!"

I smacked my forehead. Now he's totally going to believe that Naruto and I are together… Great…

"Can you please get off me?" I asked.

"No." he said. He glanced at my hand. "Ooh… is that his number?" he snatched the paper and popped it into his mouth and swallowed.

"Naruto you just ate paper!" I said, aghast.

"I know!" he grinned cheekily, "And now you can't call Sasuke!"

"I can just look in cell phone," I said.

He looked at the cell phone in his hand.

"Don't even…" I said warningly.

He threw himself off of me and dashed out of the room.

"COME BACK!" I yelled, dashing after him, "Don't even think—AHH!" I shrieked as I heard the toilet flush. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Sorry, It didn't go down," Naruto said from the other side of the door. "The cell phone was too big."

"Great!" I shouted, "Give it back!"

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, sounding a little wary, "Gramps was just in here and—"

"Argh," I growled, "You'll pay for that, Naruto!"

He chuckled.

I stormed down the hall and locked myself in my room. Now if Sasuke calls back he's going to think I'm ignoring him. Just great.

Well, maybe I'll run into him tomorrow…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

There was a knocking on the door.

"Grace!" Naruto shouted, "Why aren't you up yet? You're supposed to go out to breakfast with Sakura and Tenten!"

"Oh crap!" I muttered, suddenly awake as I jumped out of bed. I must have forgotten to set my alarm. Oh, that's right… Naruto destroyed my cell phone. And I use the alarm on my cell phone to wake up in the mornings… I threw on some clothes, nothing too fancy and walked out of my room. "Whoa, Naruto!" I said, "Aren't you getting dressed?"

"Well," he said, shrugging, "With you oversleeping and with me never getting up unless you wake me up… well, I overslept too."

"So why don't you get dressed?" I asked.

"Oh that, well your going in about fifteen minutes."

"That has nothing to do with you not getting dressed…" I glanced at the clock in my room, "It's ten. I'm supposed to be there at nine."

"I called and told them that you overslept."

"Thanks," I said, rolling my eyes. You know, I'd never have overslept if you didn't destroy my cell."

"Riiight…" Naruto said.

"Well, if I'm leaving in fifteen minutes I might as well take a shower."

"Yes you should," Naruto said, "You stink worse than Choji right after an all-you-can-eat-barbecue."

"Thanks," I muttered sarcastically, "You know the way to a woman's heart."

"You're welcome," Naruto grinned.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, and then getting dressed _again_ when Naruto said I didn't look hot enough, and I had to point out that I was going out with _Sakura and Tenten_, to which he didn't respond, only shrugged, I was finally able to leave the house.

"Well, I'm going, see you!" I said as I left.

Naruto grinned and reached into his pocket. He took out Grace's cell phone and typed in,

_Hey Sasuke, meet me at The Rose's Thorn at 10:30, k?_

He clicked send.

"Mission complete." He said, snapping the cell phone shut.

I crossed the street and headed towards The Rose's Thorn, a restaurant that the girls and I like to go to. I'm not sure why they have that as their name, maybe whoever came up with didn't have much of an imagination. It's probably the most cliché name ever. But the food's good and that's all that matters.

I walked up and was met by a waiter. "Hello Grace," he said, for I was a frequent costumer and was on a first name basis with all the staff. "You're company is over there," he said, winking at me.

I glanced over, expecting to see Sakura and Tenten waving at me, but they weren't there.

But Sasuke was.

God, why is Sasuke here? Does he have a date with someone? No way, this is so humiliating. Sasuke looked up and caught my eye.

"Um…" I said, breaking from Sasuke's eyes to look at the waiter, "Where's Sakura and Tenten?"

"I'm not sure," the waiter said, "That young man there said you invited him to breakfast."

"What—those two," I growled inwardly. I can't run now, though. My legs shook as I went over to Sasuke. I'm glad now that I decided to take a shower, as well as blow dry my hair—oh _God_ I'm thankful I put on make-up. I'm wearing a white dress with black tights and white ballet flats, and I'm really glad I decided to wear that instead of grungy jeans and tank top that I was wearing originally. No wonder Naruto made me change clothes so often this morning before heading out…

I stood at the table, Sasuke looking up at me. Oh crap… I'm not sure what to do now.

"I… I got your text." He said.

"My text?" I asked.

"Yeah—aren't you going to sit down?" he asked, motioning in front of him.

Oh, yeah, "Oh, yeah," I said, sitting down in a daze. My first date… and it's with Sasuke… who I didn't even really think about till a few weeks ago… "I sent you a—ah," So that's why Naruto stole my cell phone… "The text I sent you… yes…"

He gave me an odd look.

"Oh, your forehead…" I began. His bandage was off but there was a slight nonpermanent scar on his forehead. I resisted the urge to reach across the table to touch it.

"Right, well," I said, snapping out of my daze, "I wanted to apologize for last night, Naruto stole my cell phone and called you with it."

His face darkened, "That's not what bothered me." He said.

"Then what—oh, you mean what Naruto was talking about? Well, he was in the middle of tackling me when he called you. I mean, we weren't doing anything, he was just sitting on me and keeping me from moving."

He raised an eyebrow, his face darkening even more, "He was sitting on you?"

"Like I said, Naruto tackled me. He likes doing that—he's a very physical child—as I'm sure you know. There are times when he'll do stuff like that… the worst part is when he does that while we're taking a bath."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "While you're taking a bath?"

"Well, we have an outside bath—I don't know why—and so sometimes we'll go out and take a bath all together, which is fine except for the fact that Naruto and Konohamaru like to wrestle and sometimes I get involved."

"But you're wearing bathing suits—or towels at least, right?"

I blinked, "No, not usually."

Sasuke looked livid for a moment, then he calmed down, "Then what do you wear?"

"Nothing—we're taking a bath," I said, "That's why it's awkward when Naruto tackles me."

The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched, but he didn't look amused. "Let's…" he started, "Let's change the subject."

"O—ok," I said. Then I blushed, "Oh no! That all sounded really wrong! I didn't mean that Naruto and I—I mean, I guess that we do technically see each other naked—but—"

"I said let's change the subject," Sasuke interrupted.

"Oh, right, yeah…"

The waiter came and we ordered our food..

"Um… Sasuke?" I began.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Why did you agree to come out to a…" I couldn't bring myself to say date.

"You asked me to," Sasuke said.

"Oh." I said. I blinked, "I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner."

"That's fine." He said.

"Right."

Silence ensued.

This was… getting awkward…

After breakfast, in which we didn't really say anything, the waiter dropped bill off. "Oh," I said, reaching for my wallet.

"No," Sasuke said, taking out his own, "I'll pay for it."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Th..thanks…" I said. We stood up and left together. "Do you want to go for a walk?" I asked him.

He looked at me in surprise, and nodded, "Sure."

We walked in silence for a bit. "You know, when I first came to school," I said, breaking the silence, "I thought you were pretty cute."

He looked at me, startled. His cheeks turned a little pink. I think my own might have heated up, but there's no backing down. These feelings might be premature, and somewhat new, but I might as well get it out while I have the chance.

"And," I continued, "For a long time, I didn't really think about it too much… but recently I think… I think I've grown to like you, Sasuke."

He stopped walking, and I had to remember to stop as well, otherwise I would have just kept going. We were now in a little park, secluded, which was good because I would have been mortified if someone saw what happened next.

"I know that we hardly know each other, and I know that you probably just think I'm just another girl in class, but… I want to get to know you better," I said, "You don't have to reply right away—I'd understand if you don't feel the same way. I'm perfectly happy just being friends with you."

He kept staring at me with that same expressionless composure that he always seems to wear. Then, a small crack in that still. He smiled. "I want to get to know you too, Grace." He said, softly.

My eyes widened.

He stepped closer to me and reached a hand out, cupping my cheek gently, and brought his face in. He pressed his lips against mine, and for a long time, we just stood there, as if time had stopped.

When he drew away from me, the smile remained. "Be my Valentine?" he whispered.

He already knew the answer.

The END

Whoo… this turned out longer than I thought… And for the FIRST TIME EVER Grace was the one to initiate something!!!! This is a special treat (because for once they actually kiss) but don't expect it to happen for real any time soon!

My, my… It's sounds impossible even as I say it but I made Grace, an OC, sort of OOC in this chapter… o.O. Although that was the point, since she's not supposed to be like the Grace in Truthspeaker. That's the fun with alternate universes, it would actually be weirder if a person was exactly alike their alternate self.

Oh, and this whole alternate universe thing? A while back I played with the idea of writing a short (or long) parody fanfiction of Truthspeaker which would include all the characters but take place in this world. I really liked the idea but didn't think any of you readers would like it, so I tossed it. However, I just couldn't help it with this. BUT, if you guys like it tell me in a review and I may revisit that old idea.

Happy Valentine's day!

fUnKyToEs


	61. La Morte Della Verità: Part I

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: La Morte Della Verità: Part I

Words: 7,333

DISCLAIMER: I don't claim to own what isn't mine

WARNING: This chapter may have a larger dose of angst than what is healthy… _beware_ (aka, the return of Sasuke)

BEFOREWORD: OK: IMPORTANT: A strange and frightening realization came to me, and that is… _**TRUTHSPEAKER IS COMING TO A CLOSE**_. I mean, seriously, we're reaching a climax, the end of the story is almost onto us. I doubt they'll be more than fifteen or so chapters till the end. Luckily there is still the sequel, so don't worry those who might have looking at the bold italicized letters above and had a heart attack thinking it meant right now.

Woo… I actually got this out on time… who would have thought it, eh? This chapter was fun to write, but every once in a while I had to stop and let myself relax because there is just too much angst I couldn't help it (I really am a fluffy writer, all this angst makes me ill). Unfortunately, however, it is inevitable. Those of you who are willing to look past that I applaud you (You're braver than I am), also, there's a cute (somewhat) GraceXSasuke moment in this chapter that was fun to write, so I hope you enjoy that little gift. The end is not so giving, however, but you'll have to read and find out why.

Also, the title of this final arc is in Italian, but if anyone out there knows Italian, or is Italian, and its wrong, please tell me so I can fix it! ^^

Enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I closed my eyes as he leaned in.

Nothing happened.

I opened my eyes in confusion, and saw him staring…

In _horror_.

"Eh…" I said, "What are you—" my mouth slowly dropped as I felt as if a large weight was lifted from my skull.

I turned my head slowly down to the floor, my stomach dropping as I saw a large pile…

_Of blonde hair at my feet._

I shrieked and stepped away from the pile, my hands whipping to my head. I breathed a sigh of relief. My hair was still there. I pulled a short strand into my vision and saw that it was purple. Good… I forgot how short my hair was. "That!" I yelled. "Why'd it come off!"

He was still staring at my head as if I had two and then took a step back. "Why'd you're hair come off?" he asked.

"I… I don't know!" I yelled, "It was just a wig but it wasn't supposed to come off!"

He blinked, "It was a wig? Ah, I see now," his eyes flicked to my hair, "So you're real hair color is… purple…?"

"No," I said, taking deep breaths. "My real hair color is blonde."

"So… is that a wig?" he asked, pointing at my head.

"No, this is my real hair, I just dyed it purple," I said, touching my hair again. My head felt so… light and fluffy… wow. I'm actually kind of happy.

Besides the fact that now I just have my short boy's cut that's purple instead of my long, beautiful, blonde, princess hair…. Sigh…

"So," I said, waving my hand. "I understand if you don't want to marry me," I said. "It's completely understandable."

"What are you talking about?" Satoshi asked, "I'm not _that _shallow."

So you admit to being at least _somewhat_ shallow? Heh, good thing I didn't say that out loud. I looked at my hand. "Well, I should be going now. We have to be back at the village before nightfall."

"So this is goodbye," Satoshi said, walking over to me. He took my hand and kissed it. "I will come for you soon, my lady. Will you wait for me?"

"I can't promise anything," I said, smiling. "But I won't rule you out just yet."

He grinned. "That's all I'm asking for."

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I waved at the gates, then we started out.

"I _still_ don't know why we didn't take Satoshi up on his offer to _ride_ back in carriages," I muttered.

"That would take too long!" Guy yelled, pointing dramatically at the sky. "We must reach the Leaf Village by nightfall!"

"_Riiight_," I muttered. "Because walking is soooo much faster."

"By the way Grace," Naruto said. "What happened to your hair?"

"Midnight struck," I said.

"Huh?"

"Nothing," I said. "So how do you suggest we reach the Leaf Village in less than half a day?"

"You shouldn't have asked…" Neji muttered, shaking his head.

"Why," Guy said, spinning around and the standing in front of me. "We will race the winds!"

I shrieked in surprise as he grabbed me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder. "NEJI!!!" I shrieked. "Save me!" Alas, Naruto and Neji's forms disappeared quickly as Guy leapt into a dash. He went so fast that our surroundings were nothing more than blurs of blue, green, and brown.

Then, just as suddenly as he had started, he stopped. HARD. "Oww…" I muttered. "That _hurt_ you idiot!" I yelled, Gibbs-no, _Grace_ slapping- Guy over the head. "How dare you just pick me up and race around whenever you like!"

"You're absolutely correct!" Guy shouted, "How atrocious of me! As punishment, I shall run three times faster to the village!"

He leapt into motion. Again.

"WAIT!" I shrieked, "DON'T CARRY ME WITH YOU!"

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I wobbled slightly as Guy set me down. I took a step backwards and would have fallen if someone hadn't caught me. "Thank you!" I said, whimpering slightly. I turned around and threw my arms around Naruto. "Thank you so much my little cuddle bug." I said.

"I appreciate your thanks, but you're starting to piss me off."

"Neji!" I recoiled from him. "I thought you were Naruto!"

"Don't insult me," He said, dusting his shirt with his hand and sending me a disgusted look.

"Speaking of which, where is Naruto?"

"I'm… here…" Naruto gasped as he collapsed at my feet. "I… never knew… Uber-brows… could go so… fast…"

"Huh, I didn't either," I said. "I think that I lost my breakfast—somewhere back there..."

"What's that?" Guy shouted. "Lady Grace is hungry? We must hurry to the outpost near the village and fill her delicate stomach with the best of foods!"

"Oh God—" I didn't even shout this time as he grabbed me and began again.

_In front of some random restaurant near an even more random outpost…_

"Grace! Are you ok?" Naruto asked, breathing heavily. "Why do we have to run so fast for so long?"

"It's good practice!" Guy said. "How can you expect to grow up to be a powerful ninja if you can't run a few dozen kilometers!"

And how do you convert miles to kilometers again?

"You're right!" Naruto said, leaping up. "If I can't do this than I'm not a real ninja!"

"Oh my god," I muttered to Neji. "Naruto has been infected." No response. "Neji?" He was gone. "Hey, where's Neji?" I called out.

"Oh." Guy and Naruto turned towards me. "He must have gone inside."

"Great, I think I'll follow his lead," I said, turning around and walking in. I glanced around to see him calmly drinking tea at a far table. I approached him and said, "So, how'd you get tea so fast?"

"As you can see, they don't have many customers," Neji said, his eyes closed. He took another sip.

"I did notice," I said. "Probably best, with _those two_ here.," I noted, just as said two entered.

"I'm hungry!" Naruto shouted. "LET'S EAT!"

"DON'T YELL!" I shouted.

"_You're_ yelling now," Neji snapped.

"Don't get me started on you," I hissed. "I'm not in the mood!"

He glared at me with those pale eyes, and his face had such a typical Neji face on it that my anger ebbed away almost immediately. I smiled widely, "That's pretty cute," I said, standing up and stretching. I grabbed Neji's tea and walked towards the door. "I'm going to wait outside."

"That's my tea," Neji stated in an annoyed voice as I walked away from them.

I turned and winked at him. "Then come and get it, _ninja_," I said, sticking my tongue out and stepping past the curtain that served as the door, and sat down on the stone steps.

I heard a rustle as someone stepped out and sat next to me. Neji grabbed the tea cup from me and glared at me again. "So…" He said after a moment. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Talk about?"

"Why else did you take my tea?" he asked.

"Did it ever occur to you that I may, just _maybe_ was thirsty?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I snatched the tea from him and took a sip. I grinned. "That's what you call an indirect kiss."

He rolled his eyes, taking the cup from me yet again. "You are so immature," He stated, before taking a long, slow sip himself.

"Aww…" I said. "You returned the kiss!"

He glared at me, "I can't believe you're older than me." He snapped.

"I think it's just you," I said. "Look at Ryuichi and Jiraiya."

He shuddered. "Point taken."

I grinned. "You know something Neji?"

He glanced at me, and I reached out and placed my hand on his head, running my fingers down his long locks. "Your hair _is_ really pretty, you know that? So pretty…" I smiled, pulling a clump towards myself and sniffing. "And it smells really nice too." I let go of his hair and watched it fall gracefully around his shoulders. Just like a princess. "I used to have a crush on you—no, it's true!" I exclaimed at his look of disbelief. "I went through a whole stage in which I was totally obsessed with you." I frowned. "Although this was before I moved to Konoha."

"How is that possible?" he asked, his face contorted with confusion.

Oh… _right…_ That's _not_ possible… is it… "Well," I said, shrugging. "I'm sure you have a _hint_ that something's not quite right with me."

"You _are_ insane," he chuckled.

"That's not what I meant!" I yelled, punching his shoulder lightly.

He smiled. "I know what you meant."

"Good." I said, feigning annoyance. "I'm glad you understand. You know something, Neji? You understand me pretty well, I think."

"You're an open book," Neji said, shrugging nonchalantly.

I punched his shoulder, lighter this time. "That's _not_ what I meant," I repeated.

"I know," he said. "You're just too easy."

"I _know_, I _know_," I grumbled, "I'm as easy as a book to read and I'm blind to everything around me."

"That's truer than you know."

I growled to myself, sticking my fingers in the dirt at my feet and sticking my bottom lip out. "You know something?" I asked him.

"What?" he said, sighing.

I fingered the beads on my necklace. "I think…that…if I had to choose—"

"TIME TO SET OUT!" Guy said, bursting through the curtain. "Oh—there you are," He said, peering down at us curiously.

"You're timing couldn't have been worse," I snapped, "I was just about to say something really important!"

"What?" Naruto asked, trailing after Guy. "Grace, are you sure you're ok? You didn't eat anything!"

"Oh, right," I said. "Well, I'll eat when I get back to the village."

"That won't be for a few more hours," Neji pointed out. "You'll be starving."

"Then Konoha's food will just taste that much better," I said. "Oh! That reminds me! I need someone to carry—_NOT_ you!" I shouted as Guy bowed. "Neji, _please_!"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine," He said. "I'll carry you."

"Thank you!" I squealed happily.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Home!" I cried happily as the large gates appeared. I could tell, even from here, that the village had been destroyed from the attack. It'll take a long time for us to rebuild everything…

"I know! I know!" Naruto yelled happily.

I glanced over at Guy-sensei, who had been disturbingly quiet for a long time. He was practically shaking. "I…" he began. "I'll have to leave the rest to you, Neji!" he finally shouted before dashing off towards the village.

"What…" I asked.

"He's probably eager to see how Lee is doing," Neji said.

"Oh, that's right…Lee…" I said, sadly. "I want to see him too…"

"But you'll go see Sasuke first, right?" Naruto asked.

"I suppose," I said. "I mean, I need to make sure he's doing ok as well. I also probably need to see that old lady, too…"

I shuddered at the thought. Yes, I'll definitely go see Sasuke first. And Lee. And everyone else. Basically use up as much time as I can before I have to go see _her_…

As we passed through the large gate, the two ninja in the little registration hut at the side shouted a welcome back. I waved from my position on Neji's back. He was carrying me piggy-back and forgot to put me down now that we're in the village. Not that I'm complaining, I mean, I'm a lazy person.

"Grace!"

I looked up to see Konohamaru and Bingley rushing towards me.

"Konohamaru! Bingley!" I cried, jumping down from Neji and walking as fast as I could towards them.

Konohamaru let out a wail as he tripped into my arms. Bingley barked happily and rubbed his nose in my face, licking me. "Bingley!" I laughed. "You're all right!"

He yipped.

"I missed you!" Konohamaru wailed. "Don't leave again!"

"I won't!" I promised. "We'll stay together forever!"

"Don't forget about me!" Naruto yelled tearfully as he jumped into the group hug. I yelped as we fell over onto the ground.

"Naruto!" I yelled. "What was that for? Who the Hell do you think I am?!"

"Nothing!" he cried. "Nothing…"

I'm nothing? Thanks a lot, Naruto…

We lay in a crumpled mess for a moment before I struggled to my feet. "Alright, let's get going."

"Get going? Where?" Konohamaru asked.

"Well," I said. "I need to go see Sasuke, so why don't you go home and I'll meet you there soon?"

"Ok," Konohamaru said, disappointed. "Can't I come with you?"

I glanced at Naruto nervously, who grinned at me whilst a look of slight confusion crossed over my face. "Well," I leaned over and whispered in Konohamaru's ear. "Things may not be pretty."

"Oh," he whispered back. "Alright then, I'll go home—by the way, we're back in the Hokage's mansion. That old bat may be an old withered prune but she's letting us stay with her in our old rooms and everything! Even though we're technically able to anyway," he sniffed. "We don't need _her_ permission."

I breathed a sigh of relief. That means I can move back. I don't need to stay at Sasuke's.

"Ok," I said. "I'll meet you and Bingley back there."

"Ok!" Naruto waved as he, Konohamaru, and Bingley left.

"Bye!" I waved. "Wait a minute—Narutoyou'resupposedtocomewithme!" I shouted.

"Oh, whoops," Naruto trotted back, grinning sheepishly. "I forgot. Hey, where's Neji?"

"Probably left to report on the mission," I said, shrugging. "Let's go. I should have asked Konohamaru if Sasuke was still in the hospital…"

"I think he is." Naruto said, "I doubt he'd recover too fast, even _with _Old Granny healing him."

"Yeah, I agree." I said. "Alight, let's go."

"Do you want some apples?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke ignored her.

Sakura sighed, placing the plate with perfectly sliced skinless apples on the bedside table. She played with the flowers a little, before glancing out the window. "That's…" she said, her eyes widening. Grace? Naruto? Home? She smiled. _Finally._

With Grace home, life could return to "normal".

She felt so relived she could cry. Should she tell Sasuke? She glanced at him, to see him glaring off into the distance, as he had for the past day or two. She bit her lip, remembering what he had said yesterday. Would it be a good idea to have Naruto come up here? Probably not. But still…perhaps with Grace here… Sasuke might be happier. After all, part of the reason he's so angry is the fact she's not here.

Sakura sighed.

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled as he burst through the door.

Too late…

Sasuke's face whipped around to glare at Naruto.

Oh dear… Sakura thought, backing up. This isn't good…

"Well, well," Naruto said, smirking. "Look who's all bandaged up, huh? How are you feeling, tough guy?"

"Naruto!" Grace's voice sounded from a little ways off. "Don't leave me behind like that! You made me trip on the stairs!"

"You fell down the stairs?" Naruto asked, turning and facing down the hallway.

"I said…" Grace said, appearing suddenly in the doorway behind Naruto, "That you made me trip on the stairs, not down the stairs. I doubt I'd be up this fast if I fell down."

"You fell plenty—"

"Sasuke!" Grace exclaimed, brushing past Naruto and approaching the bed.

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"We're almost up! We're almost up!" Naruto sang as we ascended the stairs to the second level.

"Don't go so damn fast!" I muttered, as I attempted to go as fast as him.

"You're slow," Naruto muttered, stopping and letting me catch up. He grabbed my arm and hoisted me forward, then he grinned. "Almost there!" he said, letting go of me and dashing up and away out of sight.

"Naruto!" I shouted, flying forward and then my foot caught on a step, causing me trip rather ungracefully on the stairs. I grunted as I slid down them until my foot caught on another, stopping me. "I'll kill him…" I growled.

"SASUKE!" I heard Naruto shout, as a door opened.

I stood up and rushed up the stairs and down the hall to where Naruto was standing at a door.

"Naruto!" I yelled. "Don't leave me behind like that! You made me trip on the stairs!"

Naruto turned to face me, raising an eyebrow. "You fell down the stairs?"

I sighed as I walked up to him. "I said… that you made me trip on the stairs, not down the stairs. I doubt I'd be up this fast if I fell down."

"You fell plenty—" Naruto began, but I had noticed who was in the room.

"Sasuke!" I cried, rushing past Naruto and towards Sasuke. Sasuke's face broke from something close from anger and confusion to relief.

"Grace…" He said softly, his voice hoarse.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, sitting down on the bed. "You look really tired. Have you been getting enough rest? Did Lady Tsunade heal you?"

He looked slightly flustered, and then blinked at me. "Grace… you…"

His eyes slowly shifted away from me and towards something behind me. I turned, following his eyes, and found that they were resting on Naruto. A cold expression returned to Sasuke's face, and his eyes darkened.

"Oh, Naruto," I said, "Yeah, Naruto's back as well—well, you already knew that, since you saw him before me!" I laughed nervously. "Yeah, but Naruto's back, that's right…as well as Neji and Guy-sensei…" I laughed again, and glanced at Sakura for help.

Sakura saw my plea and jumped forward. "So how did the mission go, Grace?"

"Oh…" I said, my shoulders slumping. "It went well… I guess…"

"Why do you look so depressed?" Sakura asked.

Naruto chuckled, walking over to us. "She's just remembering something embarrassing… aren't you?"

"Eh…" I said, "Well you see…the thing is……well…….there was…..this…eh…"

"Well," Naruto said, his fox grin returning, obviously enjoying himself. "There was…" he prompted.

"This guy…" I began again. "Who was… you know……a prince…….and he…"

"A prince!" Sakura gasped. "Who?"

"Prince Satoshi," I said, breaking from my stutter.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Isn't that the son of the Wind Lord?" she asked. "I heard he's really handsome; is that true?"

"Yeah!" I said. "He is! He danced with me," I said. "At the ball."

Stars appeared in Sakura's eyes. "Oh _wow_ you're so lucky!" She squealed. "That sounds so amazing! You must have looked really pretty with your long hair—speaking of which," she said, placing her hands on her hips. "What happened to your blond hair?"

I paled. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice," I whispered.

"It's kind of a hard thing to miss," She said.

Naruto couldn't stand it any longer. "It fell off!" Naruto finally burst out. "It fell off! It just slid off, just like that!" He snapped his fingers.

"Really?" Sakura asked. "Did it happen at the ball?"

"No—thank _God_," I said. "It happened the next day, although it was just as mortifying."

"How?" Sakura asked.

"Because it fell off just as he was going to kiss me!" I exclaimed. "I mean, we were this close to kissing," I pinched my fingers together. "And it fell out! Talk about timing!"

Sakura wasn't laughing anymore. She was glancing nervously at Sasuke. I felt him tense next to me, and I turned slowly, with dread, to see him glaring at me with an almost demonic expression. "Uh… Sasuke…" I said. "Well, you see…"

"That's not all!" Naruto exclaimed, not catching the discomfort in the air. "He proposed to her! Can you believe it?"

"What?" Sakura asked, staring at him, then me. "Did he really?"

"That's not the worst part…" I whimpered.

"The worst part is Grace somehow got herself engaged to him." Naruto laughed.

"He proposed afterwards," I said. "I'm not sure myself how it happened but somehow I got myself engaged to the guy."

"So… you're going to have to marry him?" Sakura asked, her voice cracking.

"No." I said. "Not if I can avoid it. I mean, it's just political stuff… I don't have to if I don't want to…although it may be bad for Fire/Wind relations if I don't…but no. Although he's such a persistent guy—he tried to kiss me twice in one day!" I exclaimed.

"I didn't know it was twice." Naruto said.

"Yeah, he did it another time before then when we went riding, seriously though," I said. "I thought he was going to go _all the way _if I hadn't stopped him. It really freaked me out."

"Leave."

The three of us turned to look at Sasuke in shock. "What?" I asked.

"Leave," He repeated. His face was down, his hair blocking his eyes, but his voice sounded… _wrong_ for some reason. Not like Sasuke.

"Sakura and…" He didn't finish. "Leave."

"Do you… want me to go too?" I asked, staring at him. Sakura grabbed Naruto and hauled him off before he could complain. Sasuke didn't respond. I'll take that as a yes. I began to slide off the bed, but Sasuke grabbed my wrist. "You stay," He said, looking up at me.

I realized with a shock that his Sharingan was activated.

"Sasuke, what are you—"

"I shouldn't have let you gone," He said, the red in his eyes dimming to black, and he looked down again in anger. "I should have forced you to stay."

"Sasuke…" I began, "Look, I'm… I'm really sorry that I left things the way they were. I wasn't… I didn't say very nice things when I left. I shouldn't have said those things to you."

He glanced up at me, and I could see the hard anger slowly fading, but the rage was still there.

"I don't want…a wall between us," I said. "I…want…" I broke off, mustering the words to say. "I suppose I'm scared."

"Of what." It wasn't really a question.

"I'm scared of you going someplace that I can't follow," I said. "I'm scared that you'll go down a road that I won't be able to walk down. A forbidden road. I don't want…I want to be with you, but I'm afraid that someday will come when I won't be able to." I looked up at him. "Sasuke, promise me you will never go where I can't follow."

We looked into each other's eye for a long time, before he said, quietly, "I promise."

I felt as if a huge weight was lifted off my chest. "Sasuke," I said, tears welling up, as I wrapped my arms around him. "I'm… so happy."

His laid his hands on my waist and drew me close. "Don't worry," he whispered into my ear. "I won't _ever_… let you go…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So…what were the results?"

Kabuto smiled slyly. "They were what I thought… and more."

Orochimaru raised a slender eyebrow, "Oh? And what would that be?"

Kabuto switched his weight to a different leg, glancing at Orochimaru with amusement. "It turns out that what we thought was correct…her blood is completely compatible with Uchiha's. In fact, it's so compatible, it's almost eerie."

"And that's something coming from you," Orochimaru leered, a grin stretching the tight skin on his face. "Perfect."

"That's not all," Kabuto said. "It seems it's not just the Uchiha's kekkai genkai she's compatible with; I believe it'll work with _any_ bloodline."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "Any bloodline?"

"Yes, that's correct," Kabuto said. "It's almost……as if she were from another world."

Orochimaru gazed at Kabuto for a moment, before smiling. "Before we continue, there's something that I need to do."

"Be my guest."

"It's time the four of you set out," Orochimaru said, motioning with a tired hand at four shadows behind him. "And there's one more detail to your mission. Make sure it is _Sasuke_ who brings the girl to me. Now go."

The four shadows disappeared.

"Continue," Orochimaru said, resting a bandaged chin on a slender, bandaged hand.

"I found… interesting evidence that she's not from this world."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? And what do you mean by that?"

"She doesn't have the same genetic make-up that most people do," Kabuto explained slowly. "She's still human, and in every other way, she's exactly the same… but there's just one little oddity."

"Oh?"

"I believe, that at one point, she was exactly the same, but some sort of pulsary shock broke down and altered her DNA structure which is why her DNA can match that of any bloodline although she herself doesn't have any."

"Are you sure about that?"

Kabuto paused, meeting Orochimaru's eyes. "Yes," Kabuto said. "I searched for any traces of a bloodline, especially the Uchiha's."

"And…?"

"…Nothing. There were none."

"I see…" Orochimaru sounded disappointed. "So you think this beak down occurred when she…came?"

"Yes," Kabuto said. "If you think about it, it would probably be impossible for someone to survive entering a new world; their body would literally have to dissolve into space and somehow reassemble itself. She did."

"How… fascinating….I wonder if that would change…"

"I doubt that it would change how her children will be…however, there is something curious about her," he said, catching Orochimaru's eye again. "What we were discussing earlier today. I believe it may be true."

Orochimaru grinned again, and again the dry snake-like skin stretched to the point of bleeding. "_Excellent_."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke gazed at the sleeping form next to him. She was so tired that she had fallen asleep minutes after their embrace. No… not tired physically, emotionally. Sasuke reached out sadly and touched her cheek.

His fingers slowly made their way to her neck. He brushed the short strands of her hair away to see the faint traces of bruises where that shark man had grabbed her.

His jaw clenched in anger.

"_You're not strong enough_…" Itachi's words echoed in his head.

Sasuke closed his eyes, trying to block out the images.

All dead.

"_She'll join them…" _Itachi's voice said from the distance as Sasuke stared in horror at the bodies. _"You won't be able to do anything. You'll only be able to watch as she falls. Because you lack strength, you lack hatred. And because of that, she'll die._"

Sasuke opened his eyes, and let Grace's sleeping face melt the nightmare away. "I won't let that happen," he whispered to her, although she could not hear. "I won't let go."

She smiled softly in her sleep, as though she heard him.

He was suddenly overcome with the desire to take her into his arms and never let go. As if she'd be swept away at any moment. He grabbed her and pulled her closer. She shifted slightly in her sleep, half awake, before falling asleep again, resting in the safety of his arms.

It was dark when I opened my eyes. I felt something warm next to me. It was Sasuke… his eyes were closed, and his breathing even, so I assumed he was asleep. I smiled. His arms were wrapped around me, holding me close. "Sasuke…" I said, quietly.

He opened his eyes and gazed at me.

"Did you know," I said. "That I met this little girl on our mission? Her name was Emiko. She was the cutest little girl I ever met. She was so little, only four years old…" I trailed off. "For some reason, meeting her made me miss you. I had so much fun with this little girl. It made me want to have a little girl of my own. That sounds funny coming from someone as young as me, doesn't it?"

"No." he said, smiling.

I smiled back. "I don't think it's funny either." I took a deep breath and exhaled. "Sometimes I wonder…"

"Wonder what?"

I shook my head softly. "Nothing," I said. "I just thought of something."

"What?"

I thought of the time when I pictured myself with a family. "I was just thinking, how much it made…. How well it fit."

"What fit?" he asked softly.

I smiled into his shirt, "When I was on the mission, I made a really stupid bet. I learned a jutsu."

I felt him tense.

"Not something dangerous," I said. "I learned Naruto's sexy jutsu."

He stared at me in disbelief before raising an eyebrow. "You did?" he asked.

"Yes, although I wish I hadn't." I chortled. "Anyway, during my training, I had a really odd…daydream."

"What was it?" he asked, his mind clearly still on the sexy jutsu topic.

"It's so weird and out of place…" I mused. "I had this image of us."

I felt him shift. "Us?" he asked finally, his voice sounding a little aloof.

"Yeah," I said. "Us, older. With kids. Funny, huh? Weird thing was, it just seemed to fit."

Sasuke had a strange expression on his face.

Well… _duh_.

"I—uh, didn't mean anything by that!" I said. "I just meant—"

My eyes widened as Sasuke bent his head down so our foreheads touched. "I think…" he said softly. "That it fits as well."

I touched his forehead. "I'm glad I'm back," I said.

"Me too."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoooOoOoOoOoooOo

When I woke up, I realized that Sasuke had his arms around me.

Sasuke.

Had.

His.

Arms.

Around.

Me.

Then I realized, with a horrifying shock, that I knew this already. Well, I mean besides the few moments ago when I woke up. I mean, I knew this already from last night. Oh _God_ what did we talk about?! I was half asleep and must have rambled on about nonsense!

Sasuke must have been really creeped out! My memory proved otherwise but I abandoned that thought and stuck with the first one.

"Sorry!" I said, sitting up. Sasuke opened his eyes, his arms unraveling from my waist. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"I… I have to get home," I said.

"Home?"

"The Hokage's mansion. I'm allowed to stay there again," I said.

He said up quickly. "You're going back?" he asked, his eyebrows hunching.

"Yeah," I said, putting on my shoes. I must have kicked them off in my sleep. How I kicked my brace off is beyond me. Although seeing how they're neatly on the ground I can assume Sasuke took them off. "I mean, I can't stay here forever."

He grabbed my hand and prevented me from getting off the bed. "I thought we decided that you would stay with me when you got back."

"Well, I can't stay with you forever." I said, shrugging. "Besides, I don't want you to have to sleep on the couch forever."

"There are other rooms in the house," he sounded desperate. "You can sleep in any of those!"

I looked at the door and then back at him. "Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes."

"I won't be a nuisance?"

The look he gave me answered my question. "Alright," I said, filling with dread. "I'll stay with you, for a little while at least."

"What do you mean you're living with Sasuke?" Konohamaru yelled.

"I mean," I said, dodging a pillow that Konohamaru threw at me. "That I'm going to be living at Sasuke's house."

"BUT I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO LIVE HERE! TOGETHER!" Konohamaru yelled again, the second time this morning.

"Look," I said. "Why don't you come living with me?"

"Can I really?" Konohamaru asked hopefully.

So this was what he was after…

"I'll have to ask Sasuke first."

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered from the counter, where he was slurping ramen noodles. "We'll all be living together!"

Konohamaru and I glanced at him with annoyed expressions. "Who said you could come in here and eat our food?" We chorused.

"Hey," He said dejectedly. "Grace's home is my home, right?"

"That doesn't mean you can just waltz into Sasuke's home," I pointed out. "How would Sasuke take that?"

Not very well.

"When are you moving there?" Konohamaru asked.

"Eh—in a few days," I said. "I have to wait till Sasuke is well enough to leave the hospital and get the rooms ready."

"What?" Naruto cried. "I thought you said you were sleeping in his bed!"

"I was _before_, but now that I'm moving in I have my _own_ bed!" I shouted. "Now Konohamaru, my stuff—"

"It hasn't been unpacked," Konohamaru said. "So you can just bring it over to Sasuke's."

"That's a relief," I said. "And your stuff?"

"Most of my stuff has been unpacked," he admitted. "But it shouldn't take long to pack up again."

"Well, I have to ask Sasuke anyway if it's ok for you to stay," I said. "But I'll ask him today. When he's doing whatever he needs to do to get the room ready he doesn't want anyone around. Says he needs to do it himself." He's probably using his brother or parent's old rooms, I thought, and he needs to deal with that on his own.

"Don't forget to ask him about me!" Naruto said.

"I already know the answer—NO."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOoOoOoOoOooO

I raised a hand to knock on the door, but froze when I heard voices inside.

"Are you sure?" It was Guy-Sensei.

"Yes." That was Lady Tsunade.

"But…" Guy-sensei's voice cracked. "But that would mean…"

"Yes," Lady Tsunade replied. Then she said something that was too quiet to hear behind closed doors.

I would talk to her at a different time. I don't have a place in that room right now. I walked down the hall of the Head Quarters and stopped short when I saw someone walk out of the missions' room. Ryuichi. "Ryuichi!" I called out. He stopped and looked over his shoulder to see me. He grinned and walked over to me. "How have you been?" I asked him.

"Good," He said, his eyes traveling down my body. "You look uninjured; that's a relief."

"Yeah," I said. "Lady Tsunade is quite the healer."

"That she is," Ryuichi agreed.

I glanced at what he was wearing. Besides a Chuunin vest, which I've never seen him wear, he wore normal clothing. He seemed to notice what I was looking at, and smiled ruefully. "I'm not in the ANBU anymore," he said. "I'm just a normal Jonin now."

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

"There's nothing for you to apologize for," Ryuichi said. "It doesn't have anything to do with you."

But I knew it did.

I glanced at the door. "I have to get going, but…"

"Definitely," he said, "I'll see you around; perhaps we can hook up for dinner some time."

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "See you around."

He disappeared in smoke, and I was left feeling guilty for a reason I knew wasn't my own.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Sasuke?" I asked, peeking my head in. "Are you—argh!" I grunted as Naruto jumped onto my back. "Naruto, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked. "I'm doing the 'cling-to-Grace-all-day' thing."

"Great..." I said, rolling my eyes before grinning at him. "You're not planning on doing this all day, are you?"

"Well, it is the 'cling-to-Grace-all-day' thing," He replied.

"He's been doing this all—don't touch me there!" I shrieked, swatting Naruto's hands away from my chest.

"Wha—I just wanted to know—"

"You know _nothing_," I snapped. "Besides, you of all people should have to feel."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Naruto grinned.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked. She seemed to be visiting Sasuke a lot. I wonder if she still likes him…I looked at the fresh flowers and assortment of fruit. Yes, I have a sneaking suspicion she might.

"Grace and I took a bath together," Naruto said nonchalantly as he walked past me into the room.

"It's not what that sounded like—_actually,_ it's exactly what that sounded like," I said, blushing. "You see, this hotel we stayed in only had a unisex bath, so we ended up… you know, going in together."

"Together?" Sakura echoed. "That would mean…"

"Well, not really," I said, understanding what she was about to say. "I mean, I was careful to—"

"And then Jiraiya got her mad and she stood right out of the water!" Naruto laughed. "Man," he said, looking at Sasuke seriously. "You're lucky, Grace might not be like that Old Granny but she's not lacking in the—" I Grace-slapped him over the head, cutting him off.

"Luckily the only people who really saw me were Jiraiya and Naruto," I said. "Jiraiya has probably seen me naked dozens of times and I don't really care about Naruto."

"Besides you don't sleep with a bra on," Naruto pointed out. "So it's kind of hard not to feel—"

"Naruto!" I exclaimed. "Don't tell me you take advantage over your pillow privileges!"

"No!" Naruto exclaimed. "Of course not! It's just that when you're lying on someone it's sort of hard not to feel if they have a bra on or not."

"Oh, that makes sense." I said, nodding. "Now I get what you're talking about."

"Pillow… privileges?" Sakura asked slowly.

"Yeah," I said, shrugging. "There was usually only two futons or beds or whatever so Naruto and I slept together because I wouldn't sleep with Jiraiya—you understand—and I just got used to it. Yup, after that it was practically every night—except last night," I said. Gosh that sounded odd. Thankfully it's pretty obvious Naruto and I aren't into each other like that. At least I hope it's obvious. It'd be pretty awkward if it weren't.

"Grace," Sakura said. "That's not—"

"Oh, Sasuke," I said. "I was wondering if Konohamaru could come live with us too, seeing as he is my little brother; if he can't than unfortunately I'd feel really bad leaving him alone—"

"Me, too!" Naruto whined, pulling on my arm. "I wanna stay too!"

"Stop acting like a baby!" I snapped.

"Who's going to be your pillow! You said you couldn't sleep if you didn't have me as a pillow!"

"Good God you're right," I said, then I chuckled and poked his cheek. "What would 'ikle Naruto do without his big sis, huh?"

"Admit it," Naruto smirked. "You'd be totally lost without me."

I stuck my tongue out. "That's right my little hero," I said, only half joking. "Who's my favorite person in the whole world?"

"I don't know, does his name start with an 'N'?" Naruto asked.

"A-yup!"

"Naruto!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Bingo!" I grinned. "That settles it. Can Konohamaru and Naruto stay with us?" I asked. "Naruto can stay in my room—"

I stopped when I saw a peculiar look on Naruto's face.

I followed his eye level line to see Sasuke glaring at him. My eyes widened. I'd never seen such a horrible expression on Sasuke's face. If looks could kill Naruto would be dead a thousand and one times over. "Hey," Naruto said, nervously. "What are you glaring at, Sasuke?"

"Hey Naruto," Sasuke said, slowly, his voice contorted by a similar sound to the expression on his face. "Fight me… now!"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, confused, "We're in a hospital, and you just got patched up! You're in no condition to—"

"Just shut the hell up and fight me!" Sasuke yelled, his eyes turning red.

"Hey!" I said, stepping in front of Naruto. "Sasuke, what are you doing? Naruto's right, you're in no condition to be fighting with—"

"Don't get involved," Sasuke snapped, throwing the covers off of him and stepping onto the cold floor with his bare feet. "This is between Naruto and I."

I gritted my teeth; this is exactly what I was afraid of. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to deal with this situation, that somehow it wouldn't happen. I suppose I just don't have any good luck. Now I have to get myself out of this situation, somehow, and still remain alive… "I don't know what's going through your head, Sasuke," I said. "But if you continue with this, than I won't come to live with—"

"There's no need to go that far, Grace," Naruto said, his voice changing from confusion to a challenge. "Besides," he stepped out and returned Sasuke's hard stare. "I've been wanting a chance to fight him since the Chuunin exams! This is what I've been training for, isn't it?"

Naruto…

"Great," Sasuke seemed pleased. "On the rooftop."

"You got it."

The two walked out of the room.

I felt like I just coughed up my heart. I glanced at Sakura, and our faces echoed the same petrified expression, before hurrying after the two boys.

On the rooftop, the wind was blowing playfully. I wondered who this would help and who this would hamper. "Sasuke!" I called out. "Please don't do this! You promised!"

"I didn't promise anything about this!" Sasuke yelled. "You're the one who broke their promise!"

What promise did I make that I broke? And how am I supposed to know when I didn't promise anything?! I didn't feel like these were things that Sasuke would understand.

"Fine!" I yelled back. "If that's how you feel—than I suppose there's no need for me to come live with you, is there?!"

His head whipped around to face me, his sharingan focusing on me and I felt as though my body was engulfed in fire.

Perhaps I shouldn't have, in this situation, said something like that.

He looked away, his body rigid with anger. "Fine," He growled. "Have it your way."

I clenched my hands into fists, and then abruptly turned away and headed for the exterior stairs that led down to the street below. When I reached the street, I heard Sasuke and Naruto shout their key attacks, and then a huge explosion. I looked up to see water streaming down the sides of the building.

"That's a huge explosion," I noted, seeing the completely destroyed back end of the water tank. "That one must be Naruto's…"

I finished the last few steps and stepped onto the quiet street. "Looks like I'm through," I said, shaking my hair before walking down the path. "Sorry, Gramps."

Sasuke glared at Kakashi one last time before leaping over the large wire fence and landing on a small rooftop protruding from the hospital wall. He glanced around and saw Grace's back, a little ways down, walking down the road.

His jaw clenched. He shouldn't have lost his anger with her, if only he had watched himself than she wouldn't have stormed off like that. But it was so infuriating, seeing those two so close, so close when he was only starting to breach the outer wall. What made him so special? He was weak. He was pathetic. He shouldn't be called a ninja. And the way that she stood in front of him, it was as if she took _his_ side on things. How dare she?

He growled lighter and turned his head upwards to glare one last time at the sun when something glinted, catching his eye. He watched, stunned, as the last droplets flowed out of the completely destroyed water tank. The back side was completely mutilated. There was almost no trace that the thing could have once held water.

His hand slowly curled into a fist, slamming against the wall.

"What…" he said, "What have I been doing?"

_**Why am I so weak?**_

"Aw—looks like his girlfriend broke up with him. Lord Orochimaru will be _most_ disappointed."

"He should'a back slapped that bitch and taught her a lesson; put her in her fuckin' place."

"Don't use such foul language, especially when talking about another girl."

"To hell with you, fat ass," Tayuya spat. "Who the hell asked for your commentary?"

"Stop fighting you two," Sakon said, a grin spreading on his face "Regardless of what happens, we must bring the girl with us. Besides, I don't think it'll be hard. He may be a boy… but I must say…"

He gazed into the distance, his grin widening.

"I like the look in his eyes."

_To be continued_…

OH MY GOD THE ANGST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP THE ANGST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGST!

*Stabs the angst with a plastic knife*

Seriously, enter Sasuke and you have… a pain in the ass (that statement is not meant to be taken literally).

Yes, yes, Sasuke is somewhat losing his mind… slowly but surely, my sweetlings… slowly but surely…

Oh, and with Sound Four appearing, that means that the climax is arising…

**WHAT WILL SASUKE DO?!?!**

**WILL GRACE AND SASUKE MAKE UP?**

**WHAT THE HELL ARE OROCHIMARU AND KABUTO TALKING ABOUT?**

**WILL NARUTO FIND OUT WHAT BRAIN CELLS ARE FOR?**

**WILL THE AUTHOR OF THIS FANFICTION REALIZE HOW MANY PLOT HOLES SHE'S MAKING?**

A few of the many questions that will be answered in future chapters (and some not until the sequel, such as the plot holes)

The next chapter should be up before this weekend

As always, please review and tell me how you think of the chapter/story,

AND on my profile page is a poll called "Who is better for Grace" (yeah, original title I know) and there you can vote for your favorite guy (you can actually vote for two), and who knows, you're vote might make a difference in the whole scheme of things, so I invite you to participate and see which guy wins.

fUnKyToEs


	62. La Morte Della Verità: Part II

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: La Morte Della Verità: Part II

WORDS: 7, 019 words

DISCLAIMER: I do not claim to own what isn't mine.

WARNING: … fluff… o.O lots of fluff… no, not really. Just prepare for some _sappy_ reading, people.

BEFOREWORD: I'M NOT DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! I wrote this chapter like three times before I was satisfied. You see, as I wrote in my _warning_, this chapter is borderline sappy, because, although I HATE SAPPINESS… it's necessary… *shudders involuntarily)*So prepare yourself… and as for me? I'm pretending that I was abducted by aliens and that my captors, as a form of torture, wrote and updated this chapter.

True story

oOoOOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"My, my…" Jiraiya mused from his high position atop of the water tower. "What a complicated mess this is." He gazed softly at the crying girl a little ways off. "Seems like coming back didn't solve much, did it?"

Kakashi's only visible eye rolled towards Jiraiya in slight annoyance. "You say that, when you know that it's because you taught him such a powerful technique…" he trailed off, "You should have known better than teach that technique to someone like him."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes, "Saying this is all because of a technique is a little farfetched. Besides, you're one to talk, Kakashi. Teaching someone like _Sasuke_ the Chidori isn't the smartest move you've made, either." He returned his attention to the young blond boy who was walked away, towards the entrance, with the crying girl close behind him. "Seems to me like there's more going on between those two that meets the eye."

"Sasuke and Naruto?" Kakashi asked. "That's true. It's all a rather complicated issue… as you said."

"You can say that again," Jiraiya muttered, "But seriously, what _is_ between those two?"

Kakashi sighed. "They're like how Orochimaru and you used to be."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes in an irritated and immature fashion. "Don't get me started—"

Kakashi ignored him, "They're teammates—and friends—but it's more than that. Deep down, Naruto sees Sasuke as a rival. It all started during their Academy days. He spent every moment trying to catch up to him. He wants to be equal to Sasuke. To prove Sasuke wrong. And Sasuke sees Naruto's growth in power as a threat. He believes that he's not progressing enough."

"Revenge is twisting Sasuke's mind, eh?" Jiraiya said, closing his eyes.

"It's not just that—well, it _is_ that, but there's more to it," Kakashi said, "That's how it was before _she_ came."

Jiraiya opened his eyes and glanced towards Kakashi, "You mean Grace?"

"That's right," Kakashi said, "A change began to stir within the two boy's hearts. Sasuke…. Sees Naruto as a threat. Not only is Naruto becoming stronger than he is, but because he and Grace have become closer and closer, while Sasuke's relationship with Grace is stretching thin. And Naruto… I believe that he's also jealous of Sasuke. He might not realize it, but he doesn't like the connection between Sasuke and Grace. He's jealous of the _kind_ of connection they have."

"I did notice that on our journey." Jiraiya nodded, "Naruto may act like he wants the two to get together, but I agree, it's almost as if… well," he shrugged, "I suppose they're all too young to take this seriously."

"Except that Sasuke has an overpowering feeling of obsession," Kakashi muttered, "If only he could learn to let go a little, then most of this wouldn't be happening."

"Yeah," Jiraiya groaned, "He's the jealous boyfriend—"

"That's not what I'm talking about."

"Fine, fine," Jiraiya chuckled, "But you're right, I'm not sure if I can see a clear solution to this situation."

"Is there ever a clear solution?" Kakashi asked, raising his eyebrows.

Jiraiya glanced up at the bright sky. "You know? I don't think there is."

Sasuke sat on the branch moodily, dark thoughts roaming his mind in a violent rage. _What… have I been doing all this time? Why is Naruto…_

_That look in her eyes as she walked away… Those words… _

His fist clenched and anger rushed through him again.

Kakashi.

He blinked as the man appeared before him. He made a move to get away when his progress was halted by a wire surrounding him and strapping him to the tree.

"What are you—" Sasuke glared up at the older man with murder in his eyes.

"You'd run away," Kakashi said, crouching so the boy was eye level with him. "I think we need a little chat…"

"There's nothing to _chat_ about," Sasuke spat at him.

"Sasuke." Kakashi's voice was harsh and cold, much unlike his normal charismatic voice. "Forget about revenge."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the absurd request.

Before he could speak, Kakashi continued, "You'll only be led down a path that has no end. You will never find satisfaction."

"How will you know?" Sasuke yelled, "You don't know how it feels to have everything taken from you! What if I killed all the people you loved?! How would you feel? You wouldn't be able to say those words if you knew how I felt!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? You're right, if you killed the people I loved, I _would_ probably feel the same way. But I'm afraid that is an impossible feat." He stood up, "Because you see, all the people I care about are already dead."

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"I know how it feels to have that part torn out of your heart and soul, the emptiness, the anger, and yes, the revenge."

"Then…" Sasuke began, the anger fading out of his eyes.

"We're not all bad off," Kakashi said, "The two of us… we've both been fortunate to make friends."

_Naruto… Sakura..._

_Grace…_

"Don't forget how fortunate you are to have the people who care about you now." Kakashi sighed. "I'll say this once. Don't let them slip from your fingers… especially Grace."

Sasuke winced at her name.

"Don't let something like this come between you two," Kakashi said, "Naruto and Grace… they might be close—but don't forget, Grace cares for you—"

"You didn't see that look in her eyes," Sasuke said, cutting his sensei off abruptly, "When she stood up against… when she protected _him_… that look—" _that look that proved that he was at the center of her heart…_

"Are you just going to give up then?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke glanced up at him, as if the words were in a foreign language.

"Don't give up," Kakashi said, "That girl… she's a very special girl. She cares about you more than you can imagine. The entire time she was away on that mission, she worried about you. Don't think that you're the only one who's suffering. Those words you said to her hurt her as well. She probably thinks you hate her now." He turned around; flicking his fingers and the wires fell slack, releasing Sasuke. "Don't let this blessing burn in the fire of your revenge." He disappeared, leaving Sasuke to brood in his thoughts, gazing up at the azure afternoon sky.

oOoOoOoOoOoOooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"We will be waiting for a week—one week." Sakon said, and the four leapt up and disappeared in the bright moon. It was already night.

Sasuke watched them disappear. His mind roaming over the events that had just occurred.

Could it be… that Orochimaru could give him the power he needed?

"Oh!"

He turned and saw Grace. She seemed startled to see him. Her eyes were red, as if she had just been crying. "I didn't… expect you to—are you hurt?" her eyes widened in concern. "What happened—"

Her voice halted when she saw the remnants of the curse disappearing. "Did…" her hand flew to her mouth and a strange gurgle of hysteria escaped.

Seeing the fear in her eyes made him ache with guilt. He couldn't stop himself before he had crossed the distance between them. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her in close, holding her against him in a tight, comforting embrace. "Grace… I'm… sorry." He said, the rare apology barely audible. "I shouldn't have said those things to you."

He could feel her shaking slightly, and realized with alarm that she was crying.

"Don't leave me again," she whispered, her hands reaching up to his head, her fingers entwining in his dark hair.

Sasuke exhaled slowly. "I won't. I promise."

They stayed like that for a few moments, in silence, before Grace awkwardly stepped away from him, muttering a flustered apology. "That…I didn't mean for that to be awkward!" she exclaimed, rubbing the tears out of her eyes, "So don't think anything of it!"

He smirked, but nodded anyway.

"Can I…" she glanced at him, smiling, "Do you think I still come and stay with you?"

He smiled. "You don't even have to ask."

I rolled over. Or tried to roll over, at least. Something heavy was—"Naruto!" I mumbled in my sleepiness, "Get _off_." I swung my arm up and hit whoever was on top of me.

Said person groaned and rolled off. "What's your deal?" Naruto grumbled, "I was _sleeping_…" he sat up and rubbed his eyes, waking fully.

"Naruto…" I growled, "I think you have this the wrong way around. You see, _you're_ the pillow. Ok?" I poked him hard in the stomach. "And why don't you have your shirt on? What if someone walked in?"

You're wearing as little as I am—as a girl you should be more careful as to what you wear to bed!" Naruto grumbled, "Besides, why can't _you_ be the pillow?"

"Because _I'm_ the…I don't know," I said, "That's just the way it is—don't question fate!" I yelled, pointing at him dramatically.

"What does that have to do with—" His stomach growled, "I'm hungry."

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, "Because I couldn't—"

I blushed when a similar sound emanated from my own stomach.

Naruto chuckled, "Looks like you're hungry too." He said, poking my stomach now.

"Don't touch me!" I snapped, slapping his hand away.

"Oh, so it's fine when I'm the pillow but when you're the pillow you're suddenly protective?" he shook his head, and then yawned. "Now go get food, woman."

"Fine, you stay here," I said, sliding out of the bed and walking out the room. As soon as I left Sasuke's room, for yes, I had slept in Sasuke's room. You see, he hadn't the time to fix up a room for me so I just stayed in his room. Which I didn't complain because I really like his room, it smells really nice and his bed is really comfortable. But anyway, as I left his room I smelt something delicious. Must be Sasuke. Heh… time to eat!

I just realized how perverted that must have sounded…

Ok, just for the record—I. Don't. Think. Of. Sasuke. That. Way!

I mean, sure, he smells really nice, that's probably why his room smells nice—and sure, I really, _really _like the smell of his room, but not in that creepy kind of way—but as I'm thinking this I realize that there's no way anyone wouldn't interpret that as perverted—so I'm just going to stop while I'm ahead.

_Anyway…_

Yes. It's a good thing that Sasuke remembers to make breakfast in the morning… Not that it'd be breakfast any other time… unless—

I stepped into the kitchen, and smiled at Sasuke. He glanced up at me, then back at the pot that he was stirring. "How did you sleep?"

"Well," I said, "Except for—oh…" I trailed off, wondering if perhaps I shouldn't mention that Naruto had somehow managed to get into my bed last night… well, that sounded wrong. Especially since I was sleeping in Sasuke's bed. Yeah… that's awkward. "I slept fine, thank you." I leaned awkwardly on one leg, "Sorry I was just a mess last night."

"Hn." He turned back to whatever it was he was cooking. I saw that it was some sort of stew. The rice cooker was also on. He's making curry this early in the morning? Although it might not be curry—I can never tell with Japanese food. I could tell from his position that he didn't hold it against me. The fact that I was crying, that is, probably, deep down, Sasuke understands how weak—

"Yo," Naruto said, sleepily from behind me, "What's for breakfast…?"

I paled slightly, "I told you stay upstairs!" I hissed.

"But I can't sleep when you're gone—that's the whole reason I came in the first place—even _though_ you wouldn't be the pillow."

"The fact that I woke up with you using me as a pillow proves that statement wrong. You can have my body but you will never have my mind, soul or spirit!" I said primly.

"Does that really prove anything?" Naruto asked me, confused.

"I—yeah, it doesn't…" I said, my eyebrows furrowing, "Now that I think of it…"

I turned to see Sasuke, staring at us as if we both had grown two heads. His left eye twitched.

This isn't good… "Naruto," I whispered, "I think you should leave…"

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Don't ask questions—I'd rather not have to attend your funeral any time soon."

Naruto gazed at me with a quizzical look, before glancing back at Sasuke, as if notices him for the first time. Immediately his comical morning expression disappeared. "Hey Sasuke," he said, "Feeling better?"

Sasuke didn't say anything.

Naruto frowned, "Got a problem with me being here?"

I was going to point out that Sasuke technically hasn't _said_ anything, until I saw the enraged expression on Sasuke's face. Don't tell me Naruto was trying to pick a fight? I gave Naruto a light shove, "Come on, Naruto! I'll meet up with you for lunch, ok?"

He glanced at me, then glanced back at Sasuke, "Sure," he said, "See you later Grace!" He left, leaving the front door open as he did.

I exhaled deeply. That was close. Looks like their old rivalry has returned. Well, they were always rivals, but it's like the old days… oh… dear…

I felt like something was boring into the back of my neck. "Sasuke!" I said, spinning around to see Sasuke, still in the same position, looking at me. So that's what that feeling was… "Look, that was… I mean… I didn't mean…. I just sort of woke up and there he was. I didn't _ask_ him to come."

"He… you didn't?" that only seemed to anger Sasuke more.

Seriously, what does he want? "I'll try to make Naruto understand that he can't come here anymore, ok?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, turning around. His mind seemed to be on something else.

I shook my head, sending away any anxious thoughts and walked over to him, peering over his shoulder at the pot. "That's smells delicious!" I said, "You should teach me how to cook some of these recipes! Then I could cook for you—you know, to thank you for letting me stay here."

"You don't have to do that." He said, but he seemed pleased by the notion.

I grinned, "Alright, I look forward to it," I flicked his cheek with my fingers and walked over to the cabinet where the bowls and plates were kept. "I'll set the table, ok?"

He nodded.

As I walked over to the small table, I noticed that there was a bouquet of flowers. Sure, they were beginning to wilt, but they were still beautiful. I placed my load on the table and leaned over to smell them. However near the end of their prime they may be, they still had a timeless scent. These were the flowers Sasuke got for me before I left. "These are the flowers you got for me before I left." I said, pointing them out to Sasuke. "They're still so beautiful!"

He glanced up and blushed slightly, "Their wilted," he muttered.

"You'll just have to get me new ones," I said. I yawned and, after I finished setting the table, walked over the sliding doors. "Do you mind if I take a quick look around?"

"Go ahead," Sasuke said from behind me.

"Alright," I said, stepping onto the porch. The older more traditional part of Sasuke's house wrapped around the large courtyard. There was a porch running around on the interior, so you could walk all the way around the courtyard without having to step off the porch. It really was a beautiful house. This courtyard was so secluded—it would be a great place for little kids to play. You wouldn't have to worry about them running into the road. I began walking in one direction. Where should I go? Hm… after a while, I stopped randomly at one of the doors. I grasped it and pulled. It was a sliding door, but for some reason, it just wouldn't budge. I grunted and pulled harder, and finally it gave way, sliding with a creak open. It was dark inside, which was to be expected.

It was a large room, but fairly empty. Just bamboo mats on the floor. I stepped beyond the room and into a dark hall. There was elegant silk wallpaper lining the walls. It was beautiful, with cranes and butterflies spreading their wings, and the colors were gold and deep red, but I had an odd sensation that I have been here before. It was like déjà vu but even stranger, I can't really explain it. It's like… as if… this place is important.

But it also felt like I shouldn't be there.

I walked down the hallway, and as I passed a door, I felt something tugging at me. I stopped and turned to gaze at the door. It was a traditional Japanese door. The paper covering it was somehow intact. It was covered in dust. It looked like it hadn't been opened in years, which it probably hadn't, seeing as this place hasn't been lived in for years. But Sasuke being such a clean freak you'd think he'd clean this part of the house, but then again… it may hold memories he wouldn't want to revisit. Should I go in? I felt uncertain, as if there was something beyond this door that I wouldn't want to see—or shouldn't see. Just one peek. I grasped the handle and slid the door open.

At the opposite end of the dark, dusty room, was a large wardrobe. I blinked, _certain_ now that I have seen it before. But where? Perhaps in a dream? That's impossible…

I was about to slide the door shut, when something stayed my hand. I couldn't move. My eyes were glued to the wardrobe, and before I knew it, I was taking small shaky steps toward it. My hand reached out as if by its own accord towards the handle—

"What are you doing in here?"

As if a spell was broken, I snatched my hand away from the wardrobe, spinning around to see Sasuke standing in the doorway, looking at me with a peculiar look. "Sasuke," I said, breathing heavily. I was sweating, and Sasuke seemed to notice this.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," I said, shaking my head profusely, "Is breakfast ready?"

"Y…Yeah," Sasuke said, sending one more glance behind me before walked away, "It's ready now."

"Ok," I rushed after him, pausing in the doorway, before glancing at the wardrobe. Whatever it was, it no longer held the spell. I slammed the sliding door shut before following Sasuke back to the addition.

We sat down, and I tried to clear my mind of what had just happened. There's no sense thinking about things that don't have answers. "So what are we eating?" I asked.

As Sasuke explained what we were having, I turned my attention to studying his face. Everything about Sasuke was perfect. It's no wonder half the girl's are in love with him. I sighed dreamily.

He noticed that I was gazing at him and his cheeks heated up. "Don't look at me like that," he muttered, glancing away with irritation.

"Sorry!" I gasped, "I didn't realize I was bothering you!"

There was an awkward silence (because what other silence isn't awkward after _that_? ) and for a few moments neither Sasuke nor I spoke. "Sasuke," I began, cutting the silence. I might as well be blunt. "I know who you were talking to—last night, before I came."

His face held no betrayal but his eyes tensed.

"Please," I said, "You won't find strength that way—I mean, you will, but you will lose so much more..."

"I've already lost enough," he said, shortly.

I couldn't really say anything to that, except, "You could lose me." I said, "And Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei… You might have lost your past but don't lose your future."

"What do you know about it?" he snapped, glaring at me.

Instead of doing what I normally do, I decided to stare back at him, determined not to let my composure down. "I _do _know, Sasuke. I… I've seen it also." I suppose that's the best way to put it. I doubt he'd understand if I said I read it in a book. He'd think I was crazy. Hell, _I_ think I'm crazy sometimes!

Wait…

His eyes widened.

I sighed, "I can't imagine what it must have been like to lose everything that you loved. It's not something anyone can even _think_ about if they've never experienced. But… I do know that there comes a time that you must move on—I'm not saying you have to forget about it! You should never forget!" I said, urgently, so not to anger him, "Nor should you forgive your brother for what he did, but… If you let this rule you're life, you'll wither away. I don't want to see that happen," I said, looking down at my hands where they rested in my lap. "I don't want to see that happen to you…" I repeated.

I glanced up, to see Sasuke looked into the distance, as if thinking about something deeply.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

Our eyes made contact. "Grace…" he said softly, almost apologetically. "Stop trying to save me."

I blinked, "What are you—"

"You can't…" he closed his eyes, "You can't stop me, Grace. Stop trying. I…" he looked at me again, "I can't go back…" he trailed off.

He seemed completely lost for words, and although the words he spoke crushed me, I felt relieved, because for the first time, I felt like Sasuke was telling me the truth.

"That's…" it was my turn to speak. "I understand," I said, sadly. "I always knew that was the case. But," I said, smiling at him, although the smile was a lie, "That doesn't mean I won't stop trying. Just because it won't make a difference doesn't mean that I have to give up, because," I winked, "I'm not known for giving up! Plus," I added, "I also not known for understanding anything, so I'm just going to act like you have a chance for change."

He smiled. And then he frowned seriously. "I don't want to lose you, though—and I won't." he added. "Grace, won't you…" he trailed off, looking away. "There's something I need to tell you."

I blinked at him in slight confusion. What now? Something else having to do with his revenge? What is it? What could it… "Ok," I said, "Shoot."

He seemed a little thrown off by that, and glanced about the room, as if that would help him. Finally, he looked back at me. I noticed with a little worry that his cheeks were turning a darker color.

Eh… is he embarrassed?

"I… well, the thing is…"

It was so strange to have Sasuke so flustered that I just stared at him. Who is this? This better not be a joke… that's what it is! That's why he's so embarrassed! Someone must have say something embarrassing to me! Ha! Well, I'm not going to fall for that!

"I'm…" he took a deep breath, and then he paused, "We shouldn't be here."

"What?" I asked, confused. "We're not allowed here?"

"No—I mean, I don't want… to say it here." He said, blushing again.

I see… he needs to say it so whoever dared him to say it will hear it… and know that Sasuke went along with the dare! Well, we'll see who's tricked! "Sure," I said, "Where do you want to go?"

"Why don't we…" he glanced behind me, "Let's go—I'll show you." He stood up.

Heh… he's being sneaky… I smiled, standing up as well, "Let me get dressed," I said, and then I realized that I didn't have any clean clothes here. "I guess… I'll just get back into my clothes," I said, grimacing.

After getting dressed, I followed Sasuke out of the house. "Where are we going?"

He didn't respond. I frowned and just followed him. We walked for a few minutes before he showed signs of irritation. "Can't you walk faster?" he asked.

"Sorry I'm an invalid," I muttered.

He sighed and stopped, turning around and picking me up bridal style. "Thanks, but I can—" I let out a yelp as he dashed up onto the roofs, speeding through the city. I held on tight. You'd think I'd be used to this by now, since ninja have this strange notion that people actually _enjoy_ this, and are perfectly happy to be picked up and dashed through the city without permission. When we landed, I noticed that we were in one of the small parks. This one had cherry blossoms. Perfect place for a romantic… wait no, what kind of dare does this imply?

Sasuke put me down, and then took a deep breath.

I smirked inwardly, wait till he finds out that I know all about his dare! He will be surprised! Now he can't say that I always misunderstand and never get anything! I say that without acknowledging that I'm the most recent person to say those words. "So what did you want to tell me?" I asked, "Do you want to sit down?" I walked over to a tree and sat down, leaning against the trunk.

He followed me and sat down in front of me.

Silence…

I sighed. This is awkward.

Finally, Sasuke broke the silence. "There's something I need to tell you…"

I smiled encouragingly. Soon the dare will be over and I can tell him I know about it. Won't he be surprised… I chuckled inwardly, but kept my face straight. Best not to let him know I know that it's a dare.

"I've… for a long time, I've…" He glanced away again, before meeting my eyes, "Grace… The truth is, I lo—"

"Grace!"

Sasuke looked infuriated to be interrupted, but I was too distracted by Konohamaru and Bingley jumping into my arms. "Konohamaru!" I exclaimed, "Where did you come from?" I giggled as Bingley showered me with slobbery doggy kisses.

What ironic timing!

Sasuke stood up abruptly.

"Oh!" I said, looking up at him, "What was it you were going to say?"

He glanced from me, to Konohamaru, to Bingley. "It… never mind." He muttered, turning away. "It's nothing."

"If you say so," I said, "So," I chuckled, turning my attention to Konohamaru, "What are you doing here?"

"We came here because we were on a walk!" Konohamaru said.

"That's—heeey," I said, slowly, as a disturbing thought slowly crossed my mind, "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

Konohamaru paled. "I thought you might not realize that…"

"Skipping class, huh?" I muttered, "Alright, let's go—coming Sasuke?"

Sasuke glanced at me, his look of irritation not leaving his face, but fading slightly. "Sure." He said.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Whatever the joke—or dare—Sasuke was going to say, it didn't matter anymore. I didn't really care in the first place. I let the whole thing slip out of my mind.

"Come on, Grace!" Konohamaru whined, "Don't do this to me!"

"You reap what you sow!" I said, pulling him along as I dragged him towards the Academy.

"But you don't go to school!" he cried.

Damn… he had a point. And I'm not a ninja so I can't get away with it. "Doesn't matter," I lied, "The point is you _have_ a school that you _have_ to go to. Don't you want to be a great ninja?"

"Yeah but… they're only doing basic lessons anyway!" Konohamaru attempted to explain, "It's all just—go for an hour or two of lessons then get assigned something to help rebuild the city!"

"Weren't you telling me just yesterday that you wanted to help rebuild the city?"

"Yeah… but not the lessons! Besides, Bingley wanted a walk!"

"Nice excuse."

Konohamaru sighed, defeated.

I walked through the entrance and was met by a teacher that I've never seen. Well, that's no surprise. I'm sure that there are plenty of people I've never seen before.

Well, that's an understatement.

"Excuse me, Sensei," I called him over, "Can you show me to Iruka-sensei's classroom?"

"Sure," he said, glancing at us. He seemed displeased by the presence of Bingley, but he should be used to dogs, considering Kiba's clan.

Oh boy, I haven't thought about Kiba in a long time… speaking of that team, I wonder how Hinata is doing… Gosh there is just so much I need to do…

"Second door on the left." The teacher walked off.

"Thank you!" I called, "Wait a second, either one of you two could have shown me the way," I scolded Sasuke or Konohamaru.

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed.

"Could have." Konohamaru said.

I turned away, my face contorted with exasperation. "Boys," I muttered. I walked straight to Iruka-sensei's room and threw the door open. "Iruka-sensei!" I called, "Why do you have a scar on your nose?"

Silence the volume of cannons answered me. The class stared at me, and Iruka-sensei, who was holding a book and standing in front of the class, but his mouth was ajar, also stared at me.

"Grace," Konohamaru hissed amusedly, "You just shouted—"

"I know," I muttered, blushing. I had wanted to get the sensei's attention and said the first thing that came to my mind. I meant to say 'You had a student out during class!' but that just sort of slipped out… I mean, it was kinda on my mind. Haven't you ever wondered why Iruka-sensei got his scar? And the fact that he's had it since he was a kid?

Not to mention that his name sounds female? Like… Erica…

Off topic, "That, eh, glad to have your attention," I bluffed, keenly aware that Sasuke was nowhere nearby. Probably doesn't want to ruin his image by being seen with me. "You had a student out of class," I said, pushing Konohamaru forward. Bingley followed him, panting happily.

"I was wondering where he had gone," Iruka-sensei said, recovering from shock.

"Right," I grinned, "Well, now that that's over—got to go!"

I slammed the door shut and walked out of the building, feeling as if my face could bake a cake. That rhymed. Whoa! I should bake a cake!

Sasuke was leaning against the outer wall of the Academy. "You always have to humiliate yourself, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes, "I can't be anyone but me."

He smirked, "That's for sure." He made a great effort of pushing himself off the wall, and took a few steps toward me. We walked out of the Academy's yard, and down the pleasantly busy streets of Konoha. People were roaming around, buying food and chatting. The busy warm air of late summer was very relaxing. It's kind of sad, though, that the Academy students have to go to school in the summer. Wait… that should have been my excuse! Summer vacation! But probably the regular schools are like that too… Maybe if I went to school, actual school, they could teach me how to read and write—wow, that sounds really embarrassing. Regardless, I wish that I could read and write, it's a drag having to always rely on others to translate stuff for you—especially when they decided to be little pain in asses and tell you something wrong and you end up getting completely humiliated—I took a deep breath. I glanced over at Sasuke, and decided to break the silence. "Ever noticed that when we're alone we get interrupted a lot?" I asked.

It was his turn to roll his eyes.

"What _was_ it that you were going to say? You never finished."

"That…" he trailed off again.

I wondered what it was that had him so flustered. I wish I had a video camera so I could document this moment in history. "Well?" I asked, "It can't be that hard! And it can't be too embarrassing or unlikely—like you confessing your love or something—so what is it?"

He stared at me for a moment.

"What?" I asked, "Do I have something on my face?"

He glanced away and put his hands in his pockets. "Nothing," he said, "I'll tell you another time."

"Whenever you want," I grinned. "Man, it's almost lunchtime!"

"No it's not."

"Yeah," I said, "Look, people are eating!"

"Late breakfast."

"_Or_ early lunch," I pointed out.

"For someone who always talks about food you never actually eat that much," Sasuke pointed out, "So why all the talk?"

"I like food," I said, "I just don't… I don't know—why are you asking me?"

Sasuke froze. "Is this because you told Naruto that you'd meet him for lunch?"

I paused. Did I say that? "Probably," I shrugged, "Yeah."

He didn't say anything, and then he grabbed my arm, causing me to halt in mid-step. "I know a great place," he said, "We're going there instead."

"Instead of what?" I asked, confused.

"Instead of going somewhere with Naruto." He said, shortly.

"But I told Naruto that I'd go with him—what would you do if I told you I'd go out to lunch with you and then went out with Naruto instead?"

Sasuke's face clearly indicated that he would _not_ be pleased with the situation. Nor did he seem pleased with the present situation. Ok, so that was obvious. Point being, Sasuke was acting like a sulky teenager… Like _that's_ news…

"Look at it this way," I said, "I'm _living_ with you, I have other friends—I need to socialize with them." I pulled away from his grasp, "How about, while I'm gone, you get started on making a real room with me, and when I come back, I'll help you finish. That way I can move in fully. _And_ that means that you can have your own room back. Although I'm going to miss sleeping on your bed…"

He sighed, "That's a good idea—I suppose."

"But for the meanwhile," I said, "Why don't we go get something to drink? Tea?"

"Hn."

"Ok let's go! Where do you want to go?"

"Hn."

"What?"

"Hn."

"That's not a real response."

"Hn."

"You're not resorting to your old way of responding—"

"Just follow me." Sasuke spun around, aggravated, and began walking in a random direction.

"Ok!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"I don't know," I said, "This place is pretty high class…"

"You said that you wanted tea, and this is where I chose." Sasuke said. Personally, I'd say it was halfway in-between saying and spitting. He was _spiteful_.

He _knows_ that I can only make a fool of myself in a place like this!

"But…"

"Let's go," Sasuke said, walking into the… tea house…? I'm not sure what you'd call this place. The attendant waiting for us bowed respectfully. Sasuke glanced back expectantly. "Come on." He said.

I nodded and walked across the threshold. As I did, I had the strangest and peculiar notion.

You know those little baby carriers that make it so you can carry a baby in front? I'm not talking about slings. I'm talking about when you wear those things so the baby is huddled against you and their little face is all cute because they cheek is against your chest… And their bodies are just like sinking into you because they have no ability to hold themselves up or support themselves…

And I had the strangest feeling that I was wearing one of those.

It was like… déjà vu. I've been having a lot of those today…

"I'm…" I said, my hand reaching up to cradle the invisible baby.

Sasuke stared at me like I was crazy, and, sensing that I was _probably _going to do something completely insane, quickly rushed and grabbed me by the hand, apologizing briskly to the confused attendant before walking me away.

"What now?" he snapped.

"I'm holding a baby," I said. Glancing down.

"Stop doing that with you—what?"

"You know those baby carriers?"

He paused. "Not really." He said.

"Well, have you ever held a baby?"

Sasuke hesitated again before saying no.

I stared, aghast, at him. "You've never held a baby?"

"Well, I might of," he admitted, "But I don't remember ever holding a… baby." He seemed embarrassed by the word. How cute!

I shook my head, "That's just… and you wanting…" I sighed, "I'm disappointed in you. Anyway," I said, continuing in a brighter tone, "My point is that I felt like I was carrying a baby!"

He raised an eyebrow, "And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well…" I trailed off, "It just sort of made me want a baby for real…"

His other eyebrow raised to join the first one. "You want a baby? A sixteen?"

"Not literally!" I said, "I don't mean that I want to have a baby, it just made me remember how much I love babies…"

He sighed, "Look, if—"

"Grace! I fooooound you!"

"Naruto!" I exclaimed, "Do you know those baby carrier things?"

The blonde boy halted a few yards from us. "Baby carrier things?"

"Look, I'm guessing you don't know—and probably have never held a baby—but I just realized that I—"

"Grace—you're pregnant?" Naruto shouted in surprise.

I stared at him, "How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Is it the prince's?" Naruto gasped, rushing closer, "I thought he just try to kiss you—then again you did visit his room in the middle of the night—"

I rolled my eyes, "Neji can tell you that all I did was say goodnight and leave."

I felt a hand grab my shirt, and turning around saw Sasuke with a dangerous expression on his face, "You visited a man's room in the middle of the night?" he seethed, his face dark.

"That's, not something to be worried about—do I seem like I'm pregnant?" I asked, not that, if I _were _pregnant, I would even know this early. "Alright, look, Naruto—_clearly_ you've never learned some things—certain things have to happen for babies to be made—you got that? I've. Never. Done. Those. Things. So I can't be pregnant."

"I get _that_," Naruto said, sighing with exasperation, "You forget that I'm the creator of the sexy jutsu."

"I did forget," I admitted, "Anyway, you get the latter part now?"

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said, rolling his eyes at Sasuke, "I thought you woulda' made a move by now."

"Who are you—Naruto!" I exclaimed, "Why would you say that?"

"Because," Naruto said, shrugging, "It's true—"

I clobbered him over the head. "That's enough out of you," I snapped, "Don't let me catch you saying stuff like that again. Just for that, Sasuke and I will return to his house for lunch."

"Whaaat?" Naruto whined, "But you said—that you'd—"

"I'll have dinner with you."

"That's even worse." Sasuke protested.

"Alright!" Naruto grinned, sticking his tongue out at Sasuke, "See ya'!" he dashed off.

"Man…" I muttered, shaking my head, "Sometimes I wonder if his head is screwed on right…"

"That answer is obvious…" Sasuke muttered.

I nodded, sighing deeply. "Can we go sit somewhere? I'm getting tired."

Sasuke nodded and we veered off to the right. It took me a moment before I realized that we were at the bench that… well, a lot of the original story took place. The bench was on the path that led out of the city. I wondered the symbolism of us going there, and then realized that there isn't symbolism like that in real life.

But still, I wondered why Sasuke chose to take me here, of all places.

"Sit down," he said.

"Ok." I sat next to him, peering into his face with curiosity. The bashful and flustered Sasuke returned. He seemed to be struggling with something, as if deciding on whether or not it would be wise to say what it is he wants—or needs—to say. I was curious what it was, because obviously it was important, and not something he'd say normally, because Sasuke is usually so upfront and insensitive in how he says things that I've never really seen him act like this before.

"I'm… what I was trying to say before, Grace—but we kept on getting interrupted, is that I…"

"Yes?" I asked.

"The truth is, Grace," he glanced up to meet my eyes, "I love you."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_To be continued…_

Whooo… this took a long time to write… partially because this is the third time I've written this chapter…

Oh, and the baby carrier thing? That actually happened to me the other day. I was walking into Stop & Shop and I suddenly felt like I was wearing one of those, and I literally was holding a pretend baby for like five minutes before I realized I was getting odd looks and I stopped. It was like déjà vu. _That_ could be because I'm obsessed with babies but I think it's a premonition. Yeah… I'm a little obsessed…

Well, hope you enjoyed it! Please review and stay tuned for the next chapter!

fUnKyToEs


	63. La Morte Della Verità: Part III

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: La Morte Della Verità: Part III

WORDS: 4, 216 words

DISCLAIMER: I don't own copyrighted material that doesn't belong to me.

BEFOREWORD: Sorry this chapter is so late! I spent a little time to plan out the rest of Truthspeaker. As far as I've planned, the last chapter will be between chapter 66 and 70 (soon!)

Enjoy!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke felt blood drip from his mouth. He could feel it build up in the back of his throat. It didn't stay, however. It all began to leak towards the front, gravity pulling it towards the ground. With effort, Sasuke looked up at his captor. The strange gray haired person holding him by the foot leered at him. "Not so tough now, huh?" he sneered.

Sasuke's eyebrows hunched together in confusion. _Everyone of my blows... _he thought ..._how is it they don't show any signs of injury?_

"Look, you little snot," the girl snapped. "Don't think just because Lord Orochimaru has taken an interest in you that you're special in any way."

"Tayuya, remember, we're here for diplomatic reasons," the fat man said, glancing at the girl through the corner of his eyes. "You need to act a little more lady-like."

"Shut up, fat ass," she spat.

"The point of the matter is," the gray haired man said, shaking Sasuke to revert his attention back on him. "We're here for a very special reason." With a flick of his wrist he threw Sasuke against the wall. "We're here to recruit you."

"I'm sure you remember when Lord Orochimaru gave you a visit—during the Chuunin Exams, right?" the man with many arms said, stepping forward out of the shadows. "Well, we're the second part of the invitation."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He remembered all too well when he had last seen Orochimaru. So… they came to collect him.

"Well, we're not just recruiting you," the gray haired boy said. "We also want the girl."

_Grace?!_ Sasuke thought, his eyes narrowing. "What do you want with her?" He snarled.

"The fact that you know exactly _who it is_ we want proves that you probably know why we want her," The gray haired boy laughed, "Or are you just so protective you just assume it's your lovely girlfriend?"

Sasuke grinded his teeth, glaring at the grey haired man with rage.

"But you're right," the eight armed man interrupted. "It is the girl—Grace, I think her name is—that we're after. Not us, you need to understand, but Lord Orochimaru."

"That girl," Tayuya interjected, "Has something Lord Orochimaru wants."

"And what might that be?" Sasuke growled.

Tayuya opened her mouth, but the fat man covered it with his hand. He turned to Sasuke. "Lord Orochimaru wishes to tell you that in person. The point of the matter is if you came with us, would you really want to leave her behind?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what the man was trying to say.

"I saw how she is around that blonde boy," the gray haired man said. "She seemed _very_ close around him. I wonder… if you leave her behind, how long it would take her to forget about you? She'd probably be sad and hurt for a while, and then, when she realizes just _how important_ that Naruto kid is to her, I'm sure she'll eventually forget all about you."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes even farther.

"Not to mention," the gray haired boy continued. "The fact that with you gone, how will you know she is being protected? It's not like you could just stop back and check on her. What if Itachi came back to get her? You know your brother is interested in her. That's why he attacked her the last time. You can't let that happen, can you?"

Sasuke felt his blood boil with rage at his brother's name…but he knew that the gray haired man was correct. He always knew that whatever happened, Grace would have to stay with him. Only _he_ would be able to protect her. Only _he_ deserved to protect her.

Not only that, but he had promised that he wouldn't leave her. His eyes widened. He _had_ to take her, he reasoned.

There was no doubt in his mind.

"What does Orochimaru want with me?" Sasuke asked.

"What does he want?" The gray haired man laughed. "Why, I think he just want to give you power. However—"

"To gain power you must throw something away," Tayuya interrupted. "We four have already lost our freedom at the price of our power. What are you willing to give up?"

"Have you forgotten Itachi—what he did to your family?" the eight armed man said. "What if he does it again? What if he tries to kill Grace? Finish the job? You're not strong enough to kill Itachi as you are now—you'll never be strong enough if you stay in this shithole. Orochimaru can give you the power you need to take revenge… and to protect Grace," he added as an afterthought. "After all, if she truly loves you it shouldn't matter where you are or where you take her. And she does love you, right? You're not just playing some little kids' game, right?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and glanced at the floor.

"You don't know?" Tayuya laughed. "What a fuckin' joke."

"Regardless," the grey haired man said. "We will be waiting for a week—one week." The four leapt up and disappeared in the bright moon. It was already night.

Sasuke watched them disappear. His mind roamed over the events that had just occurred.

Could it be…that Orochimaru could give him the power he needed?

"Sit down," he said.

"Ok." I sat next to him, peering into his face with curiosity. The bashful and flustered Sasuke had returned. He seemed to be struggling with something, as if deciding on whether or not it would be wise to say what it is he wants—or needs—to say. I was curious what it was because it was obviously important and not something he'd say normally because Sasuke is usually so upfront and insensitive in how he says things that I've never really seen him act like this before.

"I'm… what I was trying to say before, Grace—but we kept on getting interrupted, is that I…"

"Yes?" I asked.

"The truth is, Grace," he glanced up to meet my eyes. "I love you."

I blinked in silence.

"Oh." I said, blankly. "Well, sure."

He stared at me, his mouth falling slack.

"Well," I continued. "I mean, I love you too."

His lips moved but nothing came out. He was completely dumbfounded. "I…" he began. "Are you serious?"

"Completely serious," I said. "I love you too." Seriously, what's so hard about that concept? How many times do I have to say it? Sasuke is… like my little brother, right? And since Naruto and Konohamaru are like my little brothers and I love them, it's only natural that I'd love Sasuke as well. Of course, with Sasuke, it's different. I blinked again. But exactly how is it different? I inhaled, thinking deeply. To tell you the truth I don't really think of Sasuke as a little brother… now that I think about it. So then why did I say I loved him without even thinking twice?

"But I didn't think you…" he trailed off.

I blinked at him. His cheeks were tinged with color, and he looked away.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"N…nothing," he said. He glanced back at me, and I was struck by how dark his eyes were.

"Sasuke," I said. "This morning, you told me not to try to save you."

He frowned, obviously annoyed that the subject had changed so quickly. "What about it?"

"I…" I took a deep breath. "Please… I know I probably can't save you. The only person who can is yourself. But…" I trailed off. "Please, just…" I took a deep breath. "If you change too much—the person I love will be lost. It would kill me to see that happen."

I felt my heart wrench with the pity in his eyes. "I won't let that happen," he said. "I…"

I shook my head. "I know it will happen, Sasuke. The Sasuke I care about is the one sitting in front of me. I don't want you to change. I just want things to stay the way they are. I know that any future with you—the way things are going—will only be in despair. I don't want…" I stopped mid-sentence, hoping my message was sent through to him.

He shook his head. "I will _make_ a happy future—no matter what happens," he promised. "No matter what it takes—I swear that I'll make you happy."

I moved forward and wrapped my arms around him tightly, resting my forehead on his shoulder. "Just don't leave," I pleaded. "Just—promise me you won't leave."

I felt him wrap his arms around me tightly, his head resting on the crook of my neck. "You know I'd never leave you," he whispered softly.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Perhaps… I didn't fail Gramps.

"Sasuke," I began, in a louder, more cheerful voice.

"What is it?"

"I like hugging you."

Sasuke made a strange noise and stiffened, instinctively moving away from me. "Hey!" I exclaimed, holding on tighter and moving with him. "I didn't mean move away!"

"You're—" he stuttered. "Do you even—"

I looked at him. "Do I even…?"

His face was a dark crimson. "You're an idiot," he muttered.

I let go of him and crossed my arms. "I knew it," I said. "You just think I'm an idiot."

"Yes."

I glowered at him.

"But," he smirked. "You're _my_ idiot."

He gently took my chin in his hand and leaned forwards. For an insane moment, I thought he was going to kiss me on the mouth but he ended up just kissing my cheek, just below my eye.

I didn't say anything out of shock as he moved away from me.

What… why did he kiss me? Of course, it wasn't on the mouth, so it wasn't like he was doing it to be romantic. I mean, he probably was just trying to make me feel better. Brothers and sisters peck each other on the cheek all the time, right? Naruto and I do it all the time, so why shouldn't Sasuke and I?! But my heart doesn't race like it's about to jump out my throat whenever Naruto and I peck each other on the cheek. This is completely different somehow.

I stared at him, and saw that he was blushing. I smiled a little, and then leaned forward and kissed him in the same spot that he kissed me. I mean, that's the polite thing to do, right? It would be impolite for me to just receive a peck and not give it back.

His skin felt so smooth and cold against my lips. I felt him quiver at the touch, but it wasn't out of disgust. In fact, it was something completely different. I felt him shift, moving his hands to my waist, resting them there. His face turned so that he was looking directly at me. He took a deep breath, before I heard something snap behind me. I glanced towards the sound, and then let out a yelp as Sasuke's head slammed into mine.

"What…" I cried out, clutched my head.

Sasuke in turn rubbed his forehead. "Why did you move?" he snapped, looking thoroughly pissed off.

"What were you _doing_?" I asked, glancing towards the sound again. It was gone now. I wonder what had made that noise to begin with. Oh well. "Hey," I said. "Did you hear that strange noise a little bit before—right before I turned?"

Sasuke frowned. "I didn't hear anything," he said.

"I see," I said. "Well… that's strange…"

He shook his head. "I just can't…" he trailed off, muttering to himself in irritation.

"What _were_ you trying to do?" I asked him.

"If you can't figure that out for yourself you really _are_ an idiot," he snapped.

That's not very nice… "Look," I said, stretching. "We should probably head back to the house; I'm going to have dinner with Naruto so I want to get ready."

"What—oh…" Sasuke looked like he just tasted something nasty. "Why do you have to have dinner with him?" He sounded a little sulky.

"Because," I said. "He's my little brother—and I love him just as much as I love you so I should give him some attention too. And I love Konohamaru and I love Sakura and I love Neji—wait… no, I don't love Neji." I stood up and stretched, deciding to forget the strange occurrences that had just… occurred. "Well, should we head—what's the matter?" I exclaimed, turning back to see Sasuke glaring at me with such ferocity that I actually felt frightened for a moment. Or thirty.

"You…" he said, flushing in embarrassment. "You didn't understand…"

"Didn't understand what?" I asked.

"When you said you loved me, in what way did you mean it?" he asked.

I paused. In what way I meant it… "What I meant was that I love you because you're like my little brother," I said. "Just like I love Naruto and Konohamaru."

"Who do you love more, me or Naruto?"

He looked like the worlds' fate rested on this question.

"That—I don't like this question—"

"It's Naruto, isn't it?" he said, standing up quickly and advancing towards me. "That's why you're hesitating—if it were me you would have just said it!"

"Stop it!" I cried. "You're scaring me! Look, I care about both you and Naruto! Just in different ways! It shouldn't matter!"

"It doesn't matter?" he repeated. "Do you really think that?" he asked sarcastically.

"Yes," I said. "Now, can we please forget all this happened? It's starting to freak me out—I don't like it."

He frowned, but agreed.

"Let's go home now," I said. "I'd like to set up my new room before Naruto comes."

"He's not coming to _my_ house," Sasuke snapped, turning around and beginning to walk in the direction of his house.

I hurried after him, beaming at him as I linked arms with him. "_Our_ house," I corrected. "And I was hoping to cook dinner for him, but if you want I can always go to his house and cook—"

"No," he snapped. "It'll be at my—our house," he said. "I'd rather be able to see what's going on."

"Why?" I asked. "Jealous?"

He looked away.

Does that mean he's actually jealous? Well, I suppose that's quite obvious now, I mean, he partially yelled at me for potentially loving Naruto more a few minutes ago.

"Alright," I sighed. "I won't have Naruto over. I'll just tell him tonight's not a good night."

Sasuke looked relieved.

Why is he so jealous? Because Naruto's also like my little brother? Or is it something else? To tell you the truth, Naruto and I don't act like this—not the fighting, but when Sasuke kissed me and I kissed him, it wasn't like when Naruto and I peck each other on the cheek, it was… something deeper. It just felt right.

When he laid his hands on my waist, when I could feel his breath on my neck—it all just felt right, and perfect. I didn't want it to end.

I… I felt like that was how it was supposed to be.

Could it be…

That I like Sasuke more than just a friend or brother?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The idea, I realized, was preposterous.

Of course I don't like Sasuke more than a friend or brother! I just hadn't kissed Sasuke ever—that's why it was weird. I was just unused to doing those things with him! But I'll have to test it out when Naruto comes over….Because, you know, Naruto _is_ like my little brother, so if it feels weird with him than I'll know it's all just the fact that I probably like Sasuke more than—I let out a wail as I clutched my head in frustration.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked as he stepped into the room.

"Sasuke!" I said, spinning around. "Before, when you said you love me—"

Sasuke turned red. "That…" he began.

"Well, I was thinking—if you meant it as—" I glanced at the clock. "Weren't you going to train now?"

He glanced at the clock. "Yeah…" He glanced back at me. "Don't leave the house," he ordered.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Master…"

He walked to the front door, and glanced back. "I'll be back in about three hours."

"Alright!" I said, waving him off.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted as he walking through the back door.

"Naruto," I said, spinning around to face him. "I wasn't expecting you to use that door!"

Naruto stared at me for a moment. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"The—the back door," I said, pointing. "You usually come through the front door."

"There's a front door—this is the back door?!" Naruto asked in confusion as he turned and stared into the courtyard.

"Yes," I said, slowly.

"OH," Naruto said, nodding. "I just felt like it, I guess—so what's for dinner—I'm starving!"

"I made interpretive ramen!" I said.

"Ramen?" Naruto exclaimed. "You know how to make ramen?"

"I do indeed," I said, crossing my arms proudly. "I learned how to make it when we were on the mission, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto exclaimed. "I remember that!"

"Ok, Naruto, can you help me make the broth?"

Naruto nodded and went over to stove. "Here, right?"

"Yup," I said, walking up behind him. I put my hand on the top of his head, and scuffed up his hair slightly. Nothing. It just felt like I was scuffing up someone's hair.

That felt totally different—I mean, not only because Sasuke actually _cleans_ his hair but also because… I don't know… my hands tingled for some reason.

So… does this mean… that I might like Sasuke? Like, really _like_ him?!

The thought had crossed my mind for a while now—and now that I think of it, I used to like, like Sasuke before—a while ago—before he annoyed me and then became my friend. Could it be that I just liked him the whole time and didn't realize it?

But that doesn't make sense—wouldn't I have noticed if I liked him but didn't notice? But then again, if I didn't notice that would mean that I didn't know… but whenever I'm with Sasuke it feels different than when I'm with anyone else. When I think of it that way, I think… maybe I do like him—but the thought's so alien that I can't even comprehend it. It'd be like… I don't know.

It just doesn't make sense. I'll have to test it out some more.

"How does it look?" I asked Naruto.

"Fine," Naruto said. "I can't wait to eat!"

"I was thinking," I said. "That we—"

"—where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"He's training," I answered.

Naruto glanced at me, and I realized that he had a serious look in his eyes. "What's _with_ Sasuke lately?"

I gazed at him. "I don't know," I lied. "He's just acting strange for some reason. I'm sure it'll be all better in no time."

Naruto grinned. "Me too." His grin widened. "Does Sasuke know that I came over?"

I looked away innocently. "I told him I wouldn't invite you over—I never said I'd keep you away if you _came over yourself_."

Naruto smirked, then mockingly pointing the spoon at me accusingly, "You're cheating on Sasuke, Grace!"

For a moment I felt guilty when he said those words, as if he was correct. I mean, I _am_ lying to Sasuke in a way… well, more than a way—I'm flat out lying to him… and if he comes back to see I did actually have Naruto over he'll be…. Well… kind of pissed to tell you the truth. Not going to lie—it's not going to be a pretty sight. Well, besides all that—I have to say that I'm enjoying myself—it's not fair for Sasuke to be so overbearing of me. That alone just doesn't make sense.

I walked back over to Naruto to help him make the ramen bowls. "Naruto," I sighed. "You burnt—"

"I don't care," Naruto said, rushing over to the table and sitting down. "I'm starving!"

I nodded and walked over and sat down across from him. I watched him wolf down his ramen before asking, "Naruto?"

He glanced up at me, not stopping in his slurping of noodles. Seriously, this kid could win a medal for eating ramen. "Fwaw ith ig?"

"If… if someone said that they loved you… what would it mean?" I asked.

With great difficulty, Naruto swallowed—looking a little pained while he did so. "Then I guess that meant that they loved me." He shrugged.

"Well, what kind of love?" I asked.

"Depends on whose saying it." Naruto shrugged, digging in again.

"What… if it's…Sasuke?"

Naruto paled and glanced up at me with a horrified expression, noodles falling out of his mouth. "What—wait—are you saying Sasuke said that he loved me?!!" His face turned green.

"No—no!" I exclaimed. "I'm saying that Sasuke told _me_ that he loved me!"

Naruto sighed with relief. "That—oh!" He glanced at me with a grin. "So he said it, huh?"

"Yeah," I muttered. "He told me earlier today that he loved me… but I just don't know what to make of it."

"Well," Naruto shrugged. "I guess it all depends on what you feel."

"That's just the thing," I said, sighing. "I now know how he feels but I'm starting to doubt what I feel…"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"I mean… at first I just thought that I loved him the same way he loved me but now I'm starting to think that I may love him differently."

"Oh…" Naruto said, looking oddly sad. "Well, I suppose that will make Sasuke very unhappy…"

Does that mean that Sasuke only wants to have a brother/sister relationship? I knew it… I mean, at first I thought I just liked him as an older sister towards a younger brother—but then I started thinking that maybe I liked him more—but Naruto's right, that would probably make Sasuke sad! I mean, if I liked him more than just a brother and a friend—than that would jeopardize our relationship, right? Sasuke might feel really awkward and not want to be around me anymore!

Which means that I just have to keep my feelings to myself… oh, this is so ironic! The person I like can't know about it because they don't share my feelings!

Wait… did I just admit to liking Sasuke?

It was a good thing that Naruto left the house before Sasuke came back. I heard him step into the kitchen just as I was finishing putting the dishes away. I turned and saw him, all sweaty from training, staring and watching me.

I always thought he was attractive but for some reason he just seemed ten times more attractive then I remember him being—is this because I think I may like-like him?

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing!"I exclaimed, turning around to hide my red face. "I left your dinner on the table."

He walked over and sat down. "Ramen?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, walking over and sitting across from him. "I learned how to make it on that long mission—a while ago…"

I took a chance to glance up at him. Maybe it's just my imagination but I really do think Sasuke is more attractive now—I don't know how or why but it seems that now that I like him he's just… more… I don't know. "Sasuke?" I asked. "Remember what we were talking before about?"

He glanced up, turning pink.

"Well, when you said you l—l—loved me…" I said, fumbling over the words awkwardly. "Did you mean it—"

"What started this?" he asked.

"What?" I asked.

"Why are you bringing it up?"

"Well…" I said, quietly. "I think I may think—"

"Look," he sighed. "I understand, ok?"

"What?" I blinked. I see… he thinks I mean about loving him like a sister… no wonder he's not interesting in the subject. He thinks I like him the same way he likes me…

So Naruto was right… I can't tell him that I'm thinking maybe I like him differently…

Sasuke would probably be weirded out—I mean, it would be like you're big sister or brother telling you they're in love with you—that would be just weird…

"Ok, never mind," I said. "Well, what I was going to say before was I only love you like an older sister, ok?"

Sasuke gazed at me silently.

"Ok?" I repeated. "_Only_ like a _sister_, ok? Not romantically at all—in case you misunderstood me before."

I felt like I was dying inside when I said those words. I've said them countless times to Sasuke before but now they just seem… wrong…

As I watched Sasuke eat—I was struck with the thought that this new feeling was new at all. It was something that I've felt for a long time…

I am in love with Sasuke.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_To be continued…_

Oh misconceptions…

And misunderstandings…

The next chapter will start the della una verita!

Adios!

fUnKyToEs


	64. La Morte Della Verità: Part IV

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: La Morte Della Verità: Part IV

WORDS: 4,500 words

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything that is copyrighted by other people.

BEFORWORD: I have to say… I really blew it this time. A mix between writer's block, graduation and starting full time at a job made it really difficult to get this chapter out (and of course feeling guilty about not getting this chapter out made it difficult to write…) So I want to apologize to all my readers for not updating sooner! Especially those who contacted me and whom I told I'd be updating sooner than this date (really, I'm sorry!). However, the next chapter of Truthspeaker will be updated sooner than this one because the next chapter is the story finale. That's right, the end (kind of scary, huh?). Fear not, there _is_ a sequel.

This isn't my favorite chapter (I not good at writing dramatic stuff—so please forgive it if it comes across as forced—because it is)

Anyway, enough with apologies, and on with the second to last chapter of Truthspeaker! (I hope)

fUnKyToEs

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I blinked. I saw light. A ceiling. One of those Florissant lights. The kind you see in hospitals and public buildings. The kind that are cheap, like the engineers had a low budget. The kind that gave you headaches. I decided to stop looking at the lights and look where the breeze was coming from. It was nice, but it confused me. Why was there a breeze? I don't see a window… ah, there it is. It's strange, everything is abstract. Colors are tighter, contrasted, and yet, everything is blurred, as if there isn't a definition of what reality is and what allusion is. I felt like I was drifting in and out of sleep, as if I wasn't really here, and yet I knew I was because I felt weighted. I also felt light. I sat up, and the weighted feeling disappeared. All that was left was a pulling sensation. I threw the covers off and hopped off the bed. I blinked as I stared at my feet. I was standing, and yet, the floor felt strange. It didn't feel like I _hit_ the floor, but more like I was floating just above the surface. In my disillusioned state this didn't seem like that much of a deal so I moved on. I took some more steps, ignoring the floating sensation till I reached the window. Staring out of it was like staring into a dream. Everything seemed so much lighter, everything seemed _white. _Soft. Wavy. Smooth. Surreal. Soundless. Everything was quiet. I looked back at the bed and blinked again.

There is was, lying in the bed. I came to the soft and funny realization that I _must be dreaming._ It didn't shock me. I was like 'oh my god I'm having an out of body experience'. It was like… oh, that must be it. I'm dreaming. I rested a hand on the window sill and was again tickled by the idea that I _wasn't actually touching it._ Instead my hand was floating just above the surface. I smiled. This was fun. It was fun not worrying. Not having anything to think about. Thoughtless. I never thought it would be so nice. Not a worry. I couldn't even remember my name. What was my name? Where was I? It didn't matter. The me in the bed opened my eyes and sat up, rubbing them and yawning.

I leaned out of the open window and looked down. I was on the second story. Smiling again, I leaned all the way out till my middle rested on the sill and half of me was inside and the rest hanging out. With one gentle push my entire body slid out the window and downwards. This was fun. The pulling got a little stronger but pushed it to the back of my head. My feet softly touched the ground. This also wasn't strange. It seemed perfectly normal to float down from a second story and just land perfectly without any impact on the ground. Smiling, I set off. I saw a swing and my attention were immediately diverted. I redirected my course and headed straight for the swing. _My_ swing. I sat down and kicked off the ground. The swing shot backwards about as far as you can go on a swing and then swung forwards. It tickled me how I could see the swing sitting there. It was like I was sitting on the _thought_ of the swing. I hopped off, sailing through the air and then landed on my feet again. I walked, slowly, taking in my surroundings, till I came to stop in front of the hospital. There I am, walking out, a little dazed. Who are those little boys? There's a blond one and a dark haired one. The dark haired one looked around nine. Konohamaru, I realized, that's his name. The blond one was laughing about something. Naruto.

Someone was missing. I realized that it must be me, since I don't remember my name. Naruto was still laughing about something and then he waved and ran off. Konohamaru walked with the me outside the dream until they got to a building (I followed them out of mild curiosity). Then he entered it. There was a slight murmur of yelling, which was strange since I wasn't able to hear anything before. Then the me outside the dream kept walking until she saw another dark haired boy. She waved to him and he stopped and let her catch up with him. At this point I realized that this boy must be her friend, since they seemed to know each other. I followed them more closely. I couldn't hear what they were saying but whatever the me outside the dream was saying it couldn't be very nice. I would have to talk to her about that. Then the me outside the dream apologized and said something funny. The dark haired boy smiled. The me outside the dream continued to say whatever it was that she was saying and the boy kept looking at her smiling.

Sasuke.

I blinked.

That was his name. He seemed perfectly familiar, as if I knew him all my life. I can't believe that I forgot who he was. He kept looking at the me outside the dream with that look in his eyes. And the me outside the dream didn't see it, because she was looking in the other direction. She didn't see it because she didn't know that it was ever there. She never looked. She never saw.

She never saw that look in his eyes.

But I did. Now, I see.

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I sighed wistfully as I finished washing the dishes. If only I realized what that dream had meant before now! I can't believe how pitifully idiotic I've been the past few months!

I felt blood rush to my cheeks in pure humiliation as I thought of all the things that I've said and done, and now that I realized I like Sasuke…

Oh I was so cruel! I inwardly wailed, Why did I say and do those things! The thoughts people must have been thinking…

My cheeks must have glowed as I realized some of the things I did, albeit innocent, was completely whorish, and yes, I know that's an oxymoron. But still… I paused in my dish scrubbing, and touched my pink cheek. I can't believe… that it's taken me this long to realize it… Am I really that stupid?

And of course, I still don't know what Sasuke thinks of me…

He _did_ say that he loved me… I sort of dismissed it as playful or brotherly love, but… the way he looked at me, and the way he touched me… I felt butterflies in my stomach from the memory, that's not how a brother acts towards a sister. Not even Naruto and I act like that. Oh God… ew! I don't even think of Naruto like that!

Which brings me back to my dilemma: what does Sasuke think of _me?_ Is it brotherly love like I originally thought? But… like I said, his expression wasn't… It was more like… and the intensity… I paused yet again, my hands resting in the bubbles.

But… what would Sasuke see in me? I've always discarded any of these thoughts before on the reckoning that Sasuke wouldn't be interested in a girl like me. I'm not that pretty, and I'm obviously dumb as a dodo. If he ever did like me he's probably given up by now.

But then again… he _does_ act jealous whenever I'm with Naruto… or any other guy… or _anyone_ in general… so does that mean that maybe, somehow, he's managed to like me somewhere along?

I gave a short bark of laughter and furiously returned to scrubbing the dishes.

That's ridiculous.

There's no way Sasuke would like a girl like me.

"Are you trying to break my plates?"

I spun around, bubbles flying everywhere, and took a deep breath when I saw Sasuke there. "You startled me," I said. "And no—I wasn't trying to break your plates."

Sasuke gave me a look that plainly stated that he _already knew_ I wasn't trying to break his plates, and then gave a small shrug. "After you're finished—I thought we could watch a movie."

I smiled weakly. "Sure," I said. Then I realized what he had said.

Watch a movie…

That means using a TV.

The only TV that works at the moment is in Sasuke's room.

Sasuke's room.

_Sasuke's room._

"Ah—I mean no!" I said, loudly. "I can't do that!"

Sasuke looked startled at my outburst. "Why not?" he asked, looking slightly peeved.

"Why—because—I can't go into a boy's room! That's totally indecent!" I spun around and began to scrape the plates so hard that it created a screech that made me cringe.

"Hasn't stopped you before." Sasuke pointed out.

_Of course it hadn't! I even slept in there—with you! Oh dear God… But that was before I realized I loved you, you idiot!_ That was what I wanted to shout, but I couldn't very well say _that_. "Well, I'm a grown woman now," I sniffed. "Why are you so persistent?"

Sasuke scowled. "Why are you so damn annoying?"

I bit back a retort and turned around to finish washing the dishes. Why is Sasuke always so stuck up and annoying? Wait… he just called _me_ that.

Why did he have to call me that? I inwardly groaned. I always feel so guilty for some reason… "I'm sorry," I muttered.

Sasuke, who was still standing behind me at that point, exhaled softly. "Why do you always apologize whenever things aren't your fault?" he asked.

"I'm sorry!" I apologized again. "I don't mean to—if it annoys you then—"

"There you go apologizing again," Sasuke muttered, glancing away darkly.

"Sorry…" I mumbled.

Sasuke sent me a glare.

"Ah! Sorry—I mean, I'm sor—Ah—I mean… never mind…" I muttered.

There was an awkward moment of silence, while Sasuke stood brooding in front of me, staring outside into the distance. His face was still dark, but it looked as if he was thinking about something else.

"Sasuke," I began. "Before, when you said you lo… loved…. me…" I began cautiously. "What did you mean?"

Sasuke glanced at me in surprise, obviously breaking from his thoughts abruptly. "What?"

"What I mean is… I thought… well," I said, starting over. "I interpreted those words as… you know, brother sister love, but… is it actually… Well, what I mean is… I don't think I quite understood what you _were_ trying to say… and if I…" I fidgeted with my hands. "If I misunderstood you I'm sorry and I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." I could feel my cheeks heating up as I looked away. I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look at him.

Sasuke didn't say anything, but I was aware of him looking at me.

I glanced up through my eyelashes to see him turn towards the kitchen door to the porch. "You know." he said quietly. "That's the first time you've ever really understood something."

I felt as if something exploded in my chest, and I had difficulty breathing. That meant… that I actually _had_ misunderstood him! Oh my God… "Sasuke, I—!"

"It's alright." Sasuke said, walking away. "I understand better than you do. You've already told me how you feel—you've made _that clear_. You don't need to make it worse by apologizing or trying to explain."

"No, wait," I was panicking. I didn't want this misunderstanding to go on for any longer. "What I mean to say is that I was—"

"Grace!"

I turned in confusion as the front door opened and Konohamaru and Bingley dashed into the room. "Grace!" Konohamaru exclaimed. "You didn't meet up with me!"

"Wait—" I said, spinning back to face Sasuke's receding figure as he walked into the back courtyard. I turned back to Konohamaru, blinding reaching down and petting a slobbering Bingley on the head. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to visit you!" Konohamaru said, grinning his little toothless grin. I smiled down at him.

"I'm glad, but isn't it a little late?"

"What are you talking about; I'm a ninja!" Konohamaru said, adjusting his goggles seriously.

"So Ebisu knows where you are?" I frowned.

Konohamaru paled a little bit. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask…"

"He's going to find you—"

"HONORABLE GRANDSON—"

"Oh God…" I muttered. "He and Guy should join a club…."

Ebisu dashed through the front door, standing before us, taking deep breaths. He regained his composure and pushed his dark glasses up his nose. "Honorable Grandson and Honorable Granddaughter…. What may I ask are the two of you doing at this time of night?"

"I don't like how you phrased that…" I muttered disgustedly. "But I was just asking Konohamaru the same question. What _are_ you doing here?"

"I came to say hi… because I haven't seen you… and you always go see your other friends instead of me…" Konohamaru whimpered, tears welling up in his eyes.

Aww…. I hugged him and then kissed the top of his head. "Thanks little bro…" I said. "I missed you too… How about this, we'll go out to breakfast tomorrow, just you and me, ok?"

"You promise?" Konohamaru asked, holding up a pinky finger.

"I promise," I said, linking pinky fingers with him. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Konohamaru grinned, "Ok!" he and Bingley walked over to Ebisu, who escorted them out of the building.

"Take good care of him Male Nanny!" I called after them.

Ebisu glared at me before closing the front door.

_Funny…_ I thought. _How is it we can tell he's glaring with those dark glasses?_ I shook my head of silly thoughts and went to the kitchen, hoping Sasuke might have gone back in. He wasn't here. I walked to the sliding door and pulled it open, peering into the darkness. The lamps on the porch weren't lit. I wandered if Sasuke was out there. I stepped into the night, walking to the end of the porch. My eyes adjusted to the moonlight. I glanced up and saw a huge full moon. Incredible.

"Sasuke?" I called.

No reply.

The moon struck me as familiar, and as I gazed at it I realized why it reminded me of something. "Sasuke?" I called again. I felt panic rising. "Sasuke are you there?"

What if he left?

What if he left without even saying goodbye?

I took another step forward and let out a yelp as I realized I stepped off the porch. I flailed my arms as I desperately reached for something to grab. I closed my eyes, although there was nothing to see, and let out an 'oomph' as I landing against something that grabbed me.

"What were you doing?" Sasuke asked, holding me tightly.

"Sasuke…" I said, wrapping my arms around him. "I thought you were _gone_!"

Sasuke sighed as he rolled his eyes, moving me so I was standing on my own feet. "You jump to conclusions."

"Do I?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "You don't stop to think."

"That's not nice," I muttered, following him inside. "I need to make sure he knows, now. Maybe he won't leave if I just tell him how I really feel… maybe he'll want to stay if he knows that. He won't want to leave me behind. He did promise that. If I tell him how I feel…

I have a chance.

"Sasuke," I said as he sat me down. "What I was saying before—I wasn't finished," I said before he could interrupt.

He frowned but walked over to the stove. He put a kettle on to boil.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Making tea," he said. "It's relaxing. You're stressed."

"Oh. Yeah, that's right…" I said._ Don't get distracted… _"What I was saying before was… Well, when I said I loved you…"

"You didn't mean it in the same way," he finished.

Why do I get the feeling he's annoyed with me?

"Sasuke, _please_," I said earnestly. "Can you please, just say… Alright," I said. "When you're finished making the tea, let's sit down and set this straight, ok? I don't like it like this."

"Like what?" he snapped.

"Like _this_," I exclaimed. "Not knowing what the other person is talking about! It's so confusing and frustrating! And also knowing that the other person doesn't know what _you're_ talking about!"

Sasuke turned around so his back was to me. We didn't speak until he had poured the tea. I couldn't see what he was doing but I saw him add sugar to mine. "You know I don't like sugar in my tea," I said.

"It's strong tea," he said as he carried it over and placed it in front of me. "You're taste buds still aren't used to most of the foods here."

"You didn't put sugar in _your_ tea," I mumbled, smelling the tea. It _did_ smell strong.

"I'm used to it," he said, walking to the opposite side and sitting down.

He watched me lift the tea cup to my lips. I felt the tea touch my upper lip, but then I placed it on the table, sighing. He gazed at the cup, and then back up at me.

"Alright," I said, "I want you to start over."

"What?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Start over. With what you said before," I said.

Sasuke glanced away, his cheeks turning pink. "Wasn't humiliating me one time enough?" he muttered.

"That's not my intention," I said stiffly. "I just want to clear things up."

Sasuke sighed. "Fine," he said finally. He took a deep breath. Then he glowered at me. "Do I really have to say it?"

"Yes!" I said.

He scowled. "Look," he said. "I… I have feelings for you—and they're not the brother/sister crap that you keep going off on. I… I'm really in love with you…"

He was blushing as he said the last words.

And this is when I really hate myself.

I burst out laughing.

His face snapped towards me, standing up. "What's so funny?" he said, glaring at me in furious humiliation.

"I've…" I gasped for air. "I've never seen you so… meek… before!" I said between gaffs of laughter.

He gritted his teeth. "I've never been in love before so what do you expect?"

I realized my mistake and struggled to regain my composure. "Please sit…" I said, still chuckling. "I'm really sorry, I shouldn't laugh."

"No you shouldn't," he snapped, sitting down hard and crossing his arms. "Now you go."

"Ok," I said, trailing off when I realized I didn't know what to say.

"Ok…" I began again.

"Ok…" I started.

"Well…" I said.

"The thing is…"

"Just do it," Sasuke snapped.

I took a deep breath. Maybe if I sip some tea that will calm me. I took the cup and brought it to my lips, aware that Sasuke was watching my every move intently.

The tea did calm me down. In fact, after a few seconds I blinked sleepily. "Well…" I said. "What I mean to say is that when you said those words to me before, that's what I meant… what?"

Sasuke seemed blurry to me.

Is it me or is the room spinning?

I glanced at the cup. "Is that… what was…" I glanced up at Sasuke.

"Are you… leav…" I blinked furiously, trying to stay awake.

Did… he drug me? "Sas…" I stood up, the room spinning so fast that I knocked the cup to the ground, barely aware of the crash as it hit the floor. "Sas…"

Sasuke stood up and made his way over to me.

I lost consciousness as he neared, the last thing I saw was his feet as he stopped in front of me.

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Sasuke looked down at her. It's a pity, really, that she drank before she could finish. Not that he was all that interested in what she was going to say. He was getting fed up with her excuses and mumblings. Besides, all she would do is repeat what she had said before.

He didn't want to hear that again.

He knelt beside her head, placing two fingers on her neck, feeling her pulse.

It was steady.

He breathed a sigh of relief. In her condition, he knew it wasn't wise to drug her, but it was better than knocking her out and risking her neck pain.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, picking her up and holding her gently in his arms.

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Naruto yawned as he made his way down the street. The ramen making adventure was fun, but weird.

"Naruto…"

Naruto stopped and glanced behind him. "Oh, hi Sakura."

Sakura stopped in front of him. "Naruto… did you just come from Sasuke's house?"

"Yeah…" Naruto said. "I ate ramen with Grace—eh… don't tell Sasuke that," he said. "Grace made me promise…"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Sakura said seriously. "It's about Sasuke and Grace."

"Sasuke and Grace?" Naruto echoed, confused.

"Yeah," Sakura said, nodding. "I know you just ate, but let's go somewhere and I'll discuss this with you over dinner."

"As long as its ramen I'm good," Naruto said, following her as she walked away.

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"Huh?" Naruto said, ramen slipping from his stuffed mouth as it fell slack. "What do you mean—you're worried about Grace? She seemed fine to me… I mean, it's not like Sasuke'll let anything happen to her," he added.

"That's what I'm worried about," Sakura said, staring at her hands. "Don't you think it's strange… the way those two act?"

"What?" Naruto asked. "About what?"

"You know…" Sakura prompted.

"Ooooh…." Naruto said, swallowing hard. "You mean… like… how the two don't know what they feel?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, I mean… I mean…"

Naruto scooped more ramen into his mouth, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, I don't notice anything weird—except that Sasuke's a big pain in the butt—I mean, seriously, he's such a prick…"

"_That's_ what I mean," Sakura exclaimed.

"But he's always been a prick," Naruto said, staring at her. "Where have you _been_?"

"That's not what I mean," Sakura said. "What I mean is… haven't you noticed that he's acting differently—especially when Grace is concerned?"

Naruto swallowed and looked at his empty ramen bowl darkly. "Yeah, I've noticed," he said.

"Do you think… do you remember, during the Chuunin exams, when… Orochimaru attached Sasuke?"

"I remember," Naruto said. "He bit Sasuke's neck—that's where that strange mark came from… and Orochimaru… when we were on the mission, he did something to Grace—that Kabuto guy did."

"What did he do?" Sakura asked, shocked.

"He… I'm not sure. No one told me—and I think I was knocked out when it happened—but something bad, I think. I'm not sure. I tried to bring it up with Grace afterwards, but she got really silent and didn't want to talk about it."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Do you think…"

"Yeah," Naruto said. "I think Orochimaru is at the center of all of this."

"Before at the Chuunin exams," Sakura started. "Orochimaru kept saying that Sasuke will come to him—do you think that's his intention?"

Naruto shrugged. "It could be. But… I think Orochimaru might want Grace too."

Sakura frowned. Finally, the subject had reached the intended destination. "Naruto," she began. "Do you think… Sasuke might… you know—"

"No."

Sakura's eyes widened.

"He wouldn't do that—he wouldn't leave. He may be a jerk—and an ass—but he wouldn't betray his friends, his village. He wouldn't portray Grace, either. He's a ninja of the Leaf Village." Naruto said, firmly, "I don't care what people say or do to him, he's got standards that he lives by."

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked. "I mean…"

"I'm positive." He looked at Sakura affirmatively. "I promise."

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Sakura yawned as she made her way towards her house. She felt better now that she had talked to someone. Naruto was so confident of Sasuke's intentions that she didn't feel as worried…. Although the thought of it didn't leave—the anxiety. She shivered and glanced up at the moon. There was something strange about this night.

She glanced to the right. The Uchiha complex. Would Grace be up? Sakura knew that Sasuke had forbidden Grace to see Naruto—but he hadn't forbidden Grace to see her, right? She changed course and headed for Sasuke's house.

Knocking on the front door, Sakura frowned. It was oddly quiet… and she doubted that the two were in bed. It was late—but not _that_ late… and all the lights were out. Grace liked to leave a few lights on in case she was thirsty or needed to use the bathroom.

_That's strange…_ Sakura thought, turning the door handle and pulling the front door open. "Hello?"

She sensed that there was no movement in the building. Curious, she stepped inside. "Sasuke? Grace?"

There was no response.

She walked to the staircase and began ascending. When she reached the second floor she called out her two friends' names again. There was still no response. She opened Sasuke's door, peering inside.

The room was dark—and empty. That's strange… Sakura thought, they really mustn't be here… the place seemed dead, for some reason. She was about to turn around and leave when something caught her eye. She made her way over to the bureau, and reached for a picture frame. It was a picture that they had taken a while ago… it had her, Naruto, Sasuke… Konohamaru… and…

She frowned.

Grace wasn't in the picture anymore. There was a piece cut out where her face had been.

That doesn't make any sense, Sakura thought. Why would Sasuke cut out her face?

Unless…

The frame of the picture shattered as she dropped it.

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Sasuke walked slowly. Whether it was to cast last looks on the village, or whether it was to make sure that Grace was still breathing, he didn't know. He was carrying her bridal style, she was, of course, asleep. The drug should work for about twelve to fifteen hours. be at the destination by then.

Grace was completely still, the only sign of life was a slow, steady heart beat and rise and fall of her chest against his. He shivered as he was reminded when she was placed under the genjutsu by… his grip on her tightened as he narrowed his eyes.

That… She'll be safe from that sort of thing from now on.

He glanced up to see someone standing up ahead.

It was Sakura.

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_To be continued…_

Dun dun dun dun….. dun.

What will happen next?

Stay tuned for the next chapter! The next chapter concludes Truthspeaker (Of course, don't be surprised if it doesn't… THIS chapter was SUPPOSED to conclude Truthspeaker but… I got lazy…)

As always, reviews are GREATLY appreciated. Whether it's praise, constructive criticism, or flaming it's nice to hear from the readers (although if you're going to flame try to be kind about it). If you see some mistakes/ things that don't make sense/things that bother you/things that are stupid or cliché or anything at all that SHOULD be changed, it's really nice to hear about. I'm always paranoid that I've written something wrong/bad/cliché (haha… yeah…)/or just mary sue (again… haha… moving on). So it's really nice to hear from you early readers because I value your opinion higher than my own (since I'm the author I don't know what the story is like from a reader's point of view).

Whooo…. Anyway, I hope you like the chapter,

Look forward the story finale,

And the sequel,

And the prequel (eventually),

fUnKyToEs


	65. La Morte Della Verità: The End

TITLE: Truthspeaker

AUTHOR: fUnKyToEs

CHAPTER: La Morte Della Verità: The End

WORDS: 13, 685 words (41 PAGES BABE)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own _Naruto_, it's characters, or world.

BEFOREWORD: First off, I want to apologize for being late with this chapter. For obvious reasons, it was very emotional to write, and I've been dreading it (I won't go into details), plus I've wanted to put time and effort in, so I hope you'll forgive its' lateness.

Also… don't kill me. (just don't).

Anyway, regardless of how Truthspeaker ends, there IS a sequel! Any confusions, contradictions or questions you all may have will be answered/resolved in the sequel, so fear not.

Please enjoy last chapter of Truthspeaker!

ALSO special thanks to BattKattColourBlak for editing this.

Sincerely,

fUnKyToEs

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Sakura stood there, watching as Sasuke stopped as well. She glanced at the sleeping girl he was carrying. _Grace…_ she thought, _ I guess… you weren't able to stop him after all…_

"Sasuke," she began.

"Get out of my way," Sasuke said coldly.

Sakura paused. "That…" she trailed off. "What do—"

"What do you think you'll accomplish?" Sasuke asked, before continuing. When he was about to pass her, she reached out and grabbed one of Grace's arms.

Sasuke stopped, his eyes narrowing.

"Do you… really think… that Grace would be happy?" Sakura said, not looking at Sasuke. He voice was tight. "Do you really not know her? She…" Sakura trailed off. "You… don't you realize… this isn't what she wants."

Sasuke eye's moved to Sakura's hand, which still grasped Grace's arm.

"This isn't… what I… wanted…" Sakura began again. "I know… I know you have feelings for Grace—and I know those feelings are returned—but Grace's isn't the only one who…" She broke off, silently finishing her sentence.

"I know…" she began again. "All you want is for Grace to be safe—and happy—"

"You're wrong."

Sakura looked up in shock. "What?" she whispered.

"You said…" Sasuke said. "That all I want is for Grace to be happy—that's a lie," he said, pulling Grace out of Sakura's grip. "I don't care about her happiness."

Sakura stared at him. "What do you mean…" she asked, her eyes wide. "You don't care…"

"I don't care whether she's happy… unhappy… none of that concerns me anymore," Sasuke said. "All I care about… is that she's with me."

"But—that…" Sakura said, "But why would she want—"

"I said—her feelings don't matter," Sasuke growled.

"How can you say that?!" Sakura exclaimed. "How can you be so heartless? I thought—I thought you loved her!"

She backed away. "I thought…" She took a deep breath. "I thought…"

Sasuke turned to look her in the eye.

She backed up again, watching him in horror as he walked by. "Wait!" she called, grabbing him by the arm and stopping him. "Please!" she begged. "This… even if she isn't happy—doesn't that mean that you can't be happy? Knowing that she won't want to be with you anymore? Won't that be more painful to her than all those times she was hurt? The only reason she was able to survive those times is because she was surrounded by those she loves! If you take that away from her that she'll never recover!"

"Sakura…"

"Please Sasuke!" she begged. "Don't you… if it's your strength that you're seeking, you can gain it here—I know you can! Plenty of strong ninja came from here—and I know that if you stay—Grace will want to be with you—even I—I… I love you Sasuke…" she whispered. "I've always loved you. Even before Grace came, I've…"

Sakura leaned on Sasuke's back. "There are so many people here who want to help you gain strength, but if you leave—you won't just be alienating yourself, but Grace… You'll be killing her—it'll cause her so much pain—pain worse than… then when Gaara tortured her, or the wounds she received while on that mission… The wounds to the heart are…" Sakura's hand touched her chest, "Forever, Sasuke."

"Sakura…" Sasuke said, turning and looking at her with his sharingan activated, "I'm sorry."

Sakura blinked. The sun was shining brightly overhead.

"Are you alright?"

She sat up suddenly. "What is…" she glanced at the two ninja standing before her, paling as her senses came to her.

"Sasuke!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOo

Sasuke continued walking, leaving the unconscious girl on the street. Someone will come by in the morning and notice her. That will give him plenty of time.

He glanced down at Grace, thinking over Sakura's words.

He knew they were all true. He knew… that Grace would probably never forgive—he knew that this would hurt her… but he couldn't take her with him if he cared about her feelings.

That's why… he can't care.

Grace shifted slightly in her sleep, and for a moment, Sasuke thought she might wake, but she merely adjusted her position, tightening her hold on his shirt. She whimpered a little before drifting back into restlessness.

Sasuke drew her closer.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO o

"Well, well," Sakon sneered, "Look who turned up late—at least you have the girl," he said.

Sasuke stopped in front of them. "So how's this going to work?" he asked, looking each in the eye fearlessly.

Sakon bit back a retort, knowing that however cocky this brat may be, orders were orders. The four of them kneeled in front of Sasuke, causing the young boy to frown in confusion.

"We were under orders," Sakon said, "To follow your lead once you joined. You're now… our leader," he said, not able to keep a trace of contempt out of his voice.

Sasuke said nothing, but nodded. "We should head out—it won't be long till they've noticed that we've gone missing."

The four nodded, and the moved quickly away from the village.

Sakon glanced at the sleeping girl. It was the first time he saw her up close. He wondered what it was about the plain girl that made Orochimaru desire her so desperately. It couldn't have been her appearance. He knew, from the conversation between Kabuto and Orochimaru before they left, it had to do with her DNA, and her blood being compatible with Sasuke's. _But was there another reason? _He thought. _Orochimaru had mentioned something else._

Something that made this girl 'unique'.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOoOo

Shikamaru glowered after his mother as she left to answer the front door. "She's such a… Dad, tell me, why'd you marry such an angry women? All she does is boss us around."

Shikamaru's father took a deep breath and leaned back lazily in his chair, "Well, sometimes you're mother is sweet."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, staring at his father in disbelief. "That's it?" he asked incredulously, "That's the reason?"

Shikamaru's father shrugged, and would have continued if the dominant one of their relationship didn't poke her head through the door, announcing that Shikamaru was needed at the Hokage's office at once.

Shikamaru lazily, until physically forced by his mother, exited his family's house and walked down the street. _I wonder what could be so urgent this early in the morning?_ He thought, yawning. _I didn't even get to finish eating breakfast…_

He knocked on the door to Lady Tsunade's office, stepping in, "Yo, I'm here—"

"This is no time to be acting insolent," Tsunade snapped, for once looking serious and alert behind her desk.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah—so what's the—"

"Sasuke has left the village," Lady Tsunade said, "Sometime last night."

Shikamaru's eyes widened, "What do you mean he left?" he exclaimed.

"Orochimaru convinced him to leave," Tsunade said, darkly, "But that's not the worst part. Sasuke has kidnapped Grace."

"Grace?" Shikamaru said, "Is he an idiot? What does he think he's doing?"

Tsunade shook her head, "I don't know his motives…" she said, darkly, "But I can imagine…" she trailed off, deep in thought. She had only seen Sasuke when she first came to the village—when she healed him, much like she healed Grace from the genjutsu…

But Grace…

Her hands tightened on each other, her eyes narrowing. "Shikamaru—this is a very important mission."

"Mission—oh no…" Shikamaru said, realizing his new predicament.

"I'm sending you as squad leader to a recon mission to bring not only Sasuke, but Grace back at all costs. However, as a member of the Hokage family, and with deep political ties with the Royalty of the five nations, it is imperative that Grace be returned—safe—and unharmed. This is more important than Sasuke's safety." She said, silently speaking Shikamaru's orders in case of the worst case scenario.

Shikamaru scowled, "I don't see why _I_ have to be the one—"

"You're the only ninja above the Genin level who is available," Tsunade said, sighing and leaning back in her chair, "I know that it isn't desirable for your first mission—but beggars can't be choosers. Besides—Naruto's promotion to Chuunin hasn't been initialized yet—due to just returning from a mission. You're the only one for the job." She finished sternly.

Shikamaru nodded, sighing lightly, "Got it, got it."

"You have one hour to assemble your team," Tsunade said, "Go."

Shikamaru nodded, turning around grimly and setting out on what would be the longest day of his life.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOo

Naruto knew something was wrong when he woke up. The sun was shining brightly through the window, lighting up his face. Everything seemed calm and peaceful—like any other morning.

But something was still not right.

Naruto put a hand to his bare chest, searching for something. He couldn't tell what was wrong, but it kept nagging him relentlessly.

There was a knock on the door.

Naruto scowled, stifling it with a yawn, and proceeded to the door, he pulled it open to see Shikamaru standing there. "Shikamaru…" he said in awed amazement. "What are you doing up so early?" Naruto's winning smile faltered at Shikamaru's particularly grim expression. "What's wrong?" he asked, worry gnawing at his empty stomach.

"It's Sasuke," Shikamaru said, in a monotone but serious voice, "He's left the village."

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat—"What do you…"

"And he took Grace with him," Shikamaru finished bluntly. "I'm taking you on a mission to retrieve them." Shikamaru watched Naruto's frozen expression, waiting for a response.

To Naruto, he felt as if a large wall was crumbling. The wall that had been built slowly built over the months, protecting him, securing him, was slowly and terrifyingly beginning to waste away. Grimly, he shifted his eyes to Shikamaru, nodding his confirmations.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Neji glanced over at the blond boy. He was uncharacteristically quiet. It wasn't like him. Naruto is always so full of energy—the wild boundless sort that always got on Neji's nerve, not this brooding darkness that seemed to emanate from him.

But he had a good reason.

Neji glanced up at the sky. It was a clear blue day—a beautiful day. Who would think that behind that azure paint lay the darkness that was their future.

"Looks like we're all here," Shikamaru spoke up. "Now, you've all probably know what's going on—and if you don't, well, I guess I should explain it just to clarify…" he trailed off, sighing. He _really_ didn't feel like doing this. "Well—"

"I can do the explaining." A sharp voice interrupted.

Shikamaru turned around to see the Hokage step up behind him.

"Sure, whatever you want," he shrugged, "Doesn't make a difference to me."

Tsunade took a moment—a short moment, time was short—to survey the group of boys that Shikamaru had gathered. "Sasuke has left the village," she began, "And he has taken Grace with him… now you all know Sasuke as well as Grace, however—it is more important that Grace is returned to the village safe and _unharmed_ than it is Sasuke. Is that clear?"

The boys nodded. Naruto's fist clenched.

"So," Neji began, "What you're saying is that if Sasuke resists—if it means binging Grace back alive than we should treat him as the enemy?"

Tsunade closed her eyes. She didn't like condemning a ninja of her own village to death, but some things had to be done, "Yes." She breathed, "Yes, I am saying that."

Kiba shuffled on his feet, before speaking, "I don't think…" he trailed off when Tsunade sent him a warning look. "Understood, ma'am."

"Yes, well," Tsuande said, turning to Shikamaru, "I'll leave the rest to you."

Shikamaru nodded. Then, he glanced at his group. This wasn't going to be easy. Tsunade practically ordered them to just treat Sasuke as the enemy—how can he lead a group of Sasuke's friends—including himself—against him? He sighed. "Well, looks like that's that. I'll begin with explaining the lineup—"

"YO!"

Shikamaru's mouth snapped shut in surprise at Naruto's shout.

Tsunade stopped, she was a few meters away now, and turned back to look at Naruto.

"I'll bring back Grace _and_ Sasuke in one piece!" Naruto shouted, "Don't act like it will be the worst scenario! I _swear_ that nothing will happen to them—and tomorrow, it'll be as if today never happened!"

Tsunade's face softened and she turned around without a word, walking away slowly.

"Anyway," Shikamaru said, knowing that right now, Naruto was his biggest obstacle. "I'll explain the lineup—" He felt the swish of air next to his ear, and grunted as a foot collided painfully with the side of his head, causing him to collapse onto the ground.

"Tenten," Neji said, glancing at the kunoichi, "What are you doing here?"

"Don't show any concern for _me_," Shikamaru grumbled as he stood up, rubbing the side of his head, "What was that for?"

Tenten folded her arms across her chest, stepping back to stand in line with Sakura, and she glared at Shikamaru with dark eyes, "Why is it," she snapped, "That with the exception of Sasuke, understandably, you're bringing every boy in the Rookie 9 and none of the _girls_?"

Shikamaru glared back half heartedly, "_This_ is why," he said, pointing at his head, "You girls get too emotional—"

"_Emotional—_that is the most sexist thing—it's all about boys being superior—_"_

"What Tenten is saying," Sakura interrupted, "Is that it isn't fair that only you boys get to go on the mission and we girls don't. Grace and… Sasuke are our friends too." Sakura said, "We should be given a chance to go as well."

Shikamaru glanced from one girl's face to the other, and sighing for the uncountable time that day, "Look, when I say this, I don't mean any disrespect—but Tsunade already informed me that it was you, Sakura, that summated the report that Sasuke was missing—and that he took Grace. I also know that you tried to stop him, and failed. This means—that even if you did come with us, you wouldn't be of any use."

Sakura's eyes widened at these words.

"Hey," Naruto interrupted, "There's no need to—"

"No…" Sakura said, looking down so her bangs hid her eyes, "He's right. I failed already—there's nothing I could really do now."

"That's not true—" Tenten began.

"Sakura." Naruto said, "You heard what I told Grandma, right?"

Sakura looked up with red tinged eyes, "…yes?"

"Those words are true. I meant every single one," Naruto continued, "I will bring back Sasuke and Grace back together—and everything will be alright. You don't have to worry about anything. I promise—I _swear_ on my dream to become Hokage—that I will save the both of them."

Sakura blinked away threatening tears and nodded, "I understand."

Tenten glanced at Naruto, and then at Sakura, before casting Shikamaru one last glare and then walked slowly with Sakura out of sight.

Shikamaru groaned, "Ok—so now that we have even _less_ time than we had before, let's talk about the lineup, and no interruptions this time—I've had it." He crouched, "Alright, huddle up."

"What's the point of a lineup—we need to get going now!" Naruto shouted impatiently, now alive and teeming with vigor, "Alright, everyone, follow me!"

"_Naruto_," Shikamaru muttered, gritting his teeth, "Just shut up for once, will ya? Alright," he said, "I'll go over the lineup. I've been giving it some thought, and I think this will be the best format."

"Kiba," Shikamaru said, turning to face the boy, "You'll be the forward scout. Because of Akamaru—you can scout out the head—also, Akamaru's nose won't be distracted our smells."

"Hey," Naruto complained, "That was one time—"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, ignoring him while continuing, "I'll go second, because I'm squad leader," he said, glancing at Naruto, "This will be a good position for me because I can give orders to everyone, but especially Kiba, according to the situation. Third will be Shino, he'll be forward-middle. With your bugs, you're a good middle-ground scout, you can scout the sides and protect us from an ambush."

Shino nodded, "I understand."

"Fourth will be Naruto. Naruto," he said, turning to him, "You're second-middle, you're job is to use your clones to back up the rest of us and assist us. The fifth will be Chouji . You're going to be the striker. The people in front will create openings which you'll use to your advantage. And last, Neji. Because of your byakugan, you can see enough to be able to guard us from all angles—and most importantly, from the behind. I'm counting on you to keep us from an ambush behind us."

Neji nodded agreement.

"Does everyone understand?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good. Now, the important things. You heard Tsunade—but she's not the squad leader, I am. Sasuke isn't a close friend—in fact I find him annoying most times—but he's still a ninja of this village—and we don't leave our comrades behind—nor do we let them be taken away." He paused, taking a deep breath, "Obviously, it's important that Grace be brought back alive and safe—but it's not just because she's the granddaughter of the Third, or because politically she's important—or any reason other than she's our friend and she's also a part of this village."

His squad members nodded their agreement, Naruto's firm and confident.

"Now, I need you all to follow my command," Shikamaru concluded, "As you're squad leader, I am responsible for your lives. No mission you've been on so far is as dangerous as this will be. You may lose your lives."

A slightly worried expression crossed Chouji and Kiba's faces, while Naruto seemed not to notice the warning and Neji and Shino's faces remained stoic.

"Alright, now that I've explained everything, I think we can set out."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOoOo

Sakon stopped, his companions stopping as well, and Sasuke also slowed to a stop, although he took his time to make sure Grace wasn't jostled too much. "Why did we stop?" Sasuke asked, his tempter rises slightly. The longer they took the sooner the drug will wear off. He wasn't looking forward to when Grace woke up—Sasuke hoped that they reached Orochimaru's hideout before the drug wore off—he didn't want to have to use genjutsu on her—and using the drug again within twenty-four hours wasn't the best choice, considering her physical state.

"Well," Sakon said, leaning back on a leg, "You see… there's something we have to do before we reach our destination. Something important."

"And what is that?" Sasuke asked.

"You have to die."

Sasuke immediately went into defensive mode, his feet moving apart in a stance, and his grip on Grace tightening, preparing to leap into action to bring her to a safe place if necessary.

"Don't get so hasty," Sakon laughed, "We're not going to harm you—badly—and the chick is not going to get harmed at all—trust us." He knew that wasn't something Sasuke would do—ever. Nor had he up to this point. "What I mean is—it's all about the curse."

"You're curse seal," Jirōbō continued for Sakon, "Is only at level one. Ours is at level two."

Sakon fumbled in a pocket for a moment, before drawing out a small bottle of pills. "These," he said, "Are Seishingan."

"And what are those?" Sasuke asked.

"The pill will forcibly level you up to level two," Tayuya said.

"However," Sakon finished, "If we don't monitor you, you'll die. The level two seal causes the infection of the curse to increase dramatically, and you're body just genetically isn't made to withstand that sort of change and power—it needs to adjust. That's what you'll be dying for. Once you take the pills, and the transformation begins, it'll only be a few minutes until you die."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. "And what will happen—if I take these pills—and die?"

Sakon chuckled and walked over to Sasuke, and placed the bottle of pills on Grace's chest, "That's what we're here for. We'll place a barrier on you that will reduce the side effects of the curse. Basically, you'll be in a coma instead of being dead. A more pleasant outlook, huh?"

Sasuke's eye twitched as he looked at the pills, which now were stuck rather offensively in-between Grace's breasts. Sakon smirked as he saw that he had successfully managed to tick Sasuke off.

"You're barrier skills," Sasuke said, tearing his eyes away to glare warningly at Sakon, "Can I trust them?"

Kidōmaru stepped forth, energetically pointing at the Sound Four, "Look, we four are usually guarding Lord Orochimaru himself—if there's anything we can do it's barriers and seals—we even mad the barrier in which Lord Orochimaru and that Old Fart fought."

Sasuke thought about it, and then nodded, "But if I do that," he said, "Who's going to carry Grace." He gave Sakon a look that told the grey haired man that he was the _last_ person to do it.

"I'll carry her," Tayuya said, stepping forth, "It's a fuckin' pain but it's better than having these dickheads do it. Put her over there, after we do the barrier, I'll get her."

"Tayuya…" Jirōbō scolded.

"Shut up, fat-ass!"

Sasuke nodded, and walked with Grace over to a tree.

Carefully, and tenderly, he laid her so her back was resting. Her breathing was still steady. She was sleeping so peacefully. He brushed a short strand of hair out of her face.

_He couldn't die yet._

He grabbed the bottle of pills and walked back to the Sound Four, casting Grace one last look, but opening the bottle. He flicked one pill onto the palm of his hand, and swallowed.

What followed was the worst pain that he had experienced since Orochimaru's attack at the Chuunin Exams and Itachi's attacks. He glanced up and saw Grace, burning her image into his mind, hoping that it may save him from the pain.

The last thing he saw was her face.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sakura walked slowly back to the headquarters. The street was just starting to fill up, it was now mid-morning—hopefully they'd get there in time, Sakura thought.

"Sakura," Tenten said, a few feet ahead, "I don't think what Shikamaru said was true."

Sakura looked at her feet. "But it is true, Tenten, it's true because I couldn't do anything—all I did was let him slip away."

"But that was last night, that wasn't now—today—tomorrow—a month from now," Tenten said, spinning around, "You know as well as I do that as soon as Grace wakes up it's all going to be a different dynamic. I _know_ that Grace wouldn't go with Sasuke willingly. He probably convinced her—or—"

"Drugged her," Sakura injected.

Tenten clenched her fist, "Either way, _we're_ friends with Grace as well—it's unfair and unjust to just cast us to the side because we weren't 'first picks'." Tenten turned to look Sakura in the eye. "I'm going. Are you with me?"

Sakura stared at her brown haired friend in bewilderment, before determination cast away any clouded judgment and doubt.

"Hell yes."

oOoOOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"KIBA! You caught any scent of them?" Naruto shouted.

"For the third time—_No_." Kiba shouted back.

"Kick him," Shikamaru ordered Shino.

"I'd rather not," Shino replied smoothly.

"Come on!" Naruto shouted, not hearing Shikamaru's snide remark, "Can't you pick the scent up faster?"

"You try!" Kiba snarled.

"Both of you," Shikamaru snapped, "Or I'll send you back."

"You wouldn't dare." The two team idiots chorused.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Neji," he called back, "Do you sense any attacks?"

"None." Neji replied.

"Good." Shikamaru said, "Hopefully they don't know we're trailing them."

"It will only be a matter of time," Shino said, "The sooner we catch up the sooner they'll know—which means our only chance to catch up before they have a chance to prepare for the attack."

"Hn…" Shikamaru agreed, musing over possible attack plans. This was going to be difficult. They had high level ninja, most likely—who probably used forbidden jutsu that they've never even heard of, not to mention they're from the Sound Village which means they probably fight nasty, plus they had Sasuke—who is technically a Chuunin, although he hasn't been promoted yet, like Naruto. Shikamaru didn't know what Sasuke's motives where, but he knew that Sasuke wasn't someone who would just let another person kidnap him.

And he definitely would never let someone kidnap Grace. Not after what happened at the Chuunin Exams.

Which means… he wouldn't say it out loud, but Tsunade hinted at it plenty of times for that not to be necessary. Sasuke most likely, almost without doubt, left the village on his own free will. Plus, Sakura saw him—not his captives, and he had Grace with him. Sasuke isn't the type to be easily blackmailed, either. Shikamaru couldn't imagine Sasuke leaving—with Grace—because he wanted to hide a secret.

Actually, Shikamaru thought skeptically, if Sasuke left the village he would bring Grace.

Shikamaru didn't necessary _like_ Grace, he thought she, like most woman, were bothersome, high maintenance, and clingy, not to mention just plain _annoying. _But… he couldn't deny that she was still someone close to his own friends—and, he thought, she could even become friends with him someday.

He had always thought he didn't like her, until that one day when she sat and watched the clouds with him. That was the first time he didn't think she was just some annoying woman.

Plus, he thought darkly, he didn't want that Sand chick to beat his ass to next year if he didn't succeed in this mission.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOoOo Oo

Sakon lay, breathing heavily. It was the worst of luck that the Jonin team happened to be patrolling. He chuckled. They did leave the part about level two leaving you without any strength and stamina, when they were explaining it to Sasuke.

"Damn," Kidōmaru breathed, "Just our luck. We had to fight in level two form and loose all our stamina."

"It can't be helped," Tayuya said, also breathing heavily, "Those were Jonin—we would have been defeated if we fought them after performing that seal without being in level two."

"True," Jirōbō said, "But that doesn't mean that this isn't the greatest situation.

"Right," Kidōmaru said, glancing over at the sleeping girl next to him, "I don't know what drug Sasuke used on her, but I doubt it was a very strong one—I can already sense her levels returning to normal. It'll be a matter of a couple hours, maybe less, and the drug will be completely worn off. And she'll probably wake up before then—too."

"That will be one pain in the ass," Tayuya muttered, "Not only will we have those brats behind us, but we'll have to deal with an emotional, spoiled little bitch."

"Tayuya, you should really try not to speak in such a-"

"Aw, lay off…"

"Someone seems a little jealous at the attention this little lady is getting," Kidōmaru said, smirking at her as he lifted one of his hands and stroked Grace's bosom seductively.

Tayuya narrowed her eyes.

_That idiot,_ Sakon thought, _now I can't trust Tayuya with her. _

Sakon didn't like girls. Tayuya was bearable, because she was masculine enough that he could sometimes pass her off for male. But… He glanced at Jirōbō. Jirōbō would have to carry the coffin that Sasuke was in, Kidōmaru was off limits because Tayuya might try to kill Grace—and for that reason Tayuya was off limits.

He frowned as he surveyed the two most immature of the group.

_Looks like I have to carry her, _he thought bitterly.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Shikamaru signaled with a hand, and everyone came to a stop. "Neji," Shikamaru said, "Look and see if you can see them."

"Right," Neji said, focusing. The trees swished by as his vision focused farther and farther ahead. A small clearing came into view, and there, four ninja were resting, along with the coffin—and Grace. "I see them," he said, "They're resting—they look wounded—or it's a trap," he added. He focused his eyes on Grace, glancing at her body—and noticed that her chakra flow was jagged. _She was drugged_, he thought. "I see Grace as well—she looks unhurt—but unconscious. It looks like they drugged her."

"Those bastards," Naruto scowled, "They think they can get away with this?" No one wanted to mention to the blond that it was probably Sasuke who drugged her. "What about Sasuke?" Naruto asked, "Do you see him anywhere?"

"No…" Neji said, "I don't see him. It looks like only Grace is there." He looked at the coffin, "There is a coffin there though. It has a strong barrier that I can't see through at this distance. I doubt Sasuke's in there—but I won't be sure until I can get closer."

"A coffin?" Kiba asked, startled, "You think Sasuke…"

"I doubt it," Neji said, "They wouldn't go through all this trouble just to kill him—I was there at the Chuunin Exams," he said, "When Orochimaru gave Sasuke that curse mark on his neck. He wouldn't have done that if he was just going to kill him."

"That's true," Naruto affirmed, "I was there as well."

"Alright," Shikamaru said, "For now, we'll assume that Sasuke is still alive. Now is when we have to proceed with caution, we can't get ahead of ourselves. Let me think up a battle plan, and then we'll attack—we should attack in groups. Neji and I will be in a group together, Kiba—you can be with Naruto, Chouji, your with Shino."

"Got it." Naruto said.

"Now," Shikamaru continued, "Let me go over the plan."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOo

Shikamaru peered through the bushes. At this distance, he could see them all clearly—as well as Grace. He glanced at her. She seemed to be breathing—and Neji was right—she seemed unhurt. There was something strange about her, though, that seemed to confirm Neji's thoughts that she was drugged.

It was going to be difficult. How will they be able to fight while keeping Grace out of the line of fire? Not only is she a civilian, with no ninja skills or powers, but right now, she's practically in a coma. She won't wake up even if they try to make her do so. This means… not only will they have to make sure that they are able to fight the sound ninja, but they have to get Grace away and to a safe place. He narrowed his eyes as he saw a bug crawl across her forehead and inter her hair. It looks like Shino accomplished part one. Now they'll at least know where Grace is. And where Grace is, Sasuke won't be far from.

"Sasuke's in the coffin," Neji whispered.

"Is he dead?" Shikamaru whispered back.

"No—I don't think so," Neji replied quietly, "I still can't see very well—but I still doubt they'll kill him. It looks like he's in some sort of coma state—he's almost dead."

"What are they doing…?" Shikamaru pondered, "Why do they have him in there?"

"Who knows," Neji replied, "I'm not too keen to find out."

"We'll find out eventually," Shikamaru muttered.

"True." Neji said.

There was a moment of silence as Shikamaru surveyed the enemy. The four ninja looked young, perhaps only a few years older than they were. He recognized them from the Chuunin Exams attack, before he left and went with Sakura and Naruto.

He clicked his tongue lightly. If only Grace were a ninja—and wasn't a captive at the moment, they'd have the real advantage. Grace always seemed to know what was going on—such as with the Chuunin Exams. It'd be helpful is she had any tips for them.

But he can't wish for the impossible. He knew that.

"Neji," he said, "What is your relationship to Grace, anyway?"

Neji turned to him, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you went on a mission with her, right?" Shikamaru asked, "When she went to visit those people—whatever that was?"

"Yes…" Neji said, "What is your point?"

"Well, ideally this would be a question for Naruto, but for now you'll have to do," Shikamaru sighed, "But what do you… how do you think she'll react?"

Neji blinked at him and then looked at the girl in question. "We'll want to make sure that she's away from here when she does wake." He said, "She'll…" he trailed off, before continuing, "She won't react very pleasantly to this," he said. "It will most likely be traumatizing for her."

"I can imagine," Shikamaru muttered sarcastically, "This is such a pain…"

He glanced back at the ninja. It looked as if they were still resting. He couldn't tell how wounded they were—it looked more like they had no energy and were filled with fatigue rather than actually wounded. Kiba did sense blood a while back. They must have run into some trouble. They seemed completely unaware of his team. That wasn't good. He need them to take the bait. He glanced at Neji, "Do you think Shino's done?"

"Yeah." Neji said, "He just signaled.

"Good." Shikamaru said, he reached up and flicked a small wire. "Time to the games to begin."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOoOo

Kidōmaru felt a small twinge at his finger. He opened his sleepy eyes with a start, fully awake. He glanced at the hand in question, and narrowed his eyes. So they found them. He glanced at Sakon out of the corner of his eye, and then at Grace.

It would be a matter of seconds.

There was another twinge and two more. It looks like there were six of the little buggers. What a pain in the ass.

Sakon stood up and threw a kunai with an exploding tag attached to it. "Shi…" He and Neji threw themselves from the scene, out into the clearing as they fell rather painfully on their sides.

The Sound Four were all standing at this point, "Looks like these are the first little bugs to come out to play," Kidōmaru said, "Why don't you're little friends come out as well?"

"Look," Shikamaru said, brushing himself off, "We're here to negotiate, not to fight you!"

"What do you mean by that?" Sakon asked, "Negotiate? What could you possibly negotiate about?"

Shikamaru glanced at Grace, "What are you planning to do with her, once you get back to your village?"

"It's not a matter of what _we'll_ do with her," Sakon said snidely, "It's a matter of what Lord Orochimaru will do with her once we get her there."

Neji narrowed his eyes, "And what would that be?" he asked.

"Why would we tell you?" he sneered, "It doesn't concern you." He waved to the eight armed man next to him. "Bring the rest of them out."

The eight armed man grinned and with a few flicks of his hands, Neji and Shikamaru's companions flew out of the threes and landed uncomfortably next to them.

"Shit," Naruto mumbled, "It looks like they found us."

"It looks like that indeed," The eight armed man said, smirking. Now that he no longer had to keep his web attached he went over and picked Grace up, slinging her over his shoulder and using his of his many hands to hold her in place. "What do you say, Sakon, should we just kill them now, or make them suffer?"

Naruto growled, "Let Grace go!" he ordered.

Sakon raised a pale eyebrow, "You all seem to be rather concerned with this girl—aren't you worried about Sasuke at all?"

"Sasuke…" Shikamaru said, glancing at the coffin, "We already know the whereabouts of him—and there's no need to ask, because whatever is going on in there, it's probably better if we don't know. The only thing you need to know is that you're going to…"

He stopped speaking when he realized that his body had frozen. "Wha…" he began.

"HA!" Naruto shouted, "Good work, Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru smirked at the now startled enemy. "As Shino always says, you need to keep an ace up your sleeve. You guys are rendered completely useless."

Sakon smirked. "You really think you're pitiful little technique can work on us? Don't forget who you're dealing with."

Shikamaru's smirk faltered slightly.

"Shikamaru!" Neji shouted, a warning tone in his voice.

Shikamaru glanced up, bringing his arm up to block two shuriken from his face. He grunted and winced as they cut into his skin.

"Looks like you're not the only one with an ace up his sleeve," Sakon said, stretching his arms as Shikamaru's jutsu dissolved.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, "How…"

"Too late."

The larger ninja clasped his hands together, slamming them onto the ground.

The effects were similar to a small earthquake. The Leaf Ninja prepared themselves for the tremor, the ground uprooting around them as they were flung from their standing positions. By the time they gathering their bearings, they were enclosed in a large sphere of rock.

"Damn…" Naruto growled.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOoOoOoOoO

Jirōbō stood up. "That will keep them for a while." He said.

"Looks like they're nothing but babies…" Sakon chuckled. "It's a good thing Ukon detached himself at the right moment—it looks as if we won't have any trouble with them anymore."

"Regardless," Jirōbō said, "It's better if I stay behind and deal with them. After that—I'll join up with you guys."

Sakon nodded. "Kidōmaru , you take the coffin—I'll take the girl."

"Sure," Kidōmaru said, walking over the Sakon and plopping the girl in the two headed man's arms. He then proceeded to pick up the large barrel like coffin.

Sakon ignored Tayuya's threats to Jirōbō to stay alive or she'll kill him, although she said it in a much more unpleasant way. He glanced at the girl in his arms. "Alright, let's get going."

They jumped into action, leaving Jirōbō to deal with the kids trapped within the large mound.

Jirōbō turned to glance at it. _Looks like they're struggling inside. Too bad there's no escape for them._

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"DAMN IT!" Naruto shouted, banging on the seemingly impenetrable dome of stone, "What the hell? We were so close, damn it!"

"Naruto, get out of the way!" Kiba shouted at him, preparing for his jutsu.

Shikamaru ignored the two as they attempted to break the wall, as he contemplated the situation. What had happened back there? He knew that there was another person—could it be that there were five of them, actually? It didn't seem… Perhaps they made clones of some sort. But Neji didn't sense any chakra increase that would have occurred if one of them used a jutsu. This means that there was a fifth member. The odds were not what Shikamaru liked.

Not to mention this wasn't how he intended their ambush to go, either. _They_ ended up being the ones ambushed. And now Grace and Sasuke were getting farther away with each second.

He had to think of something, _fast_.

His winced as he felt a familiar sense of fatigue.

"Our chakra—it's getting sucked dry," Neji said, startled.

"I guessed as much," Shikamaru said, sitting, feeling drained.

"Shit," Naruto muttered, slumping, "None of our techniques are working, either."

"At this rate," Shikamaru said, "We won't have any energy to even fight."

"No…" Neji agreed, "Looks like we're running out of options."

"We can't…" Naruto breathed, "We can't just… sit here… he have to do something…"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, glancing around the wall. There were still some holes from when Kiba used his technique. But… he narrowed his eyes. Some of the holes were recovering faster than others.

That could only mean… he glanced at Neji.

Neji nodded.

Good. That meant he might be right. He just had to test it. "Yo!" he shouted. "You guys out there! I need to negotiate!"

Jirōbō frowned, his hand still pressed against the exterior of the stone dome, drawing chakra from within. "Negotiate? There's nothing to negotiate. Besides, what would you do?"

Shikamaru paused, "I'll stop chasing after Sasuke and Grace—the Sound Village can have them." He said, "Just let us out."

Jirōbō gave out a short bark of laughter, "And what makes you think that I'll just let you all out?"

"In that case," Shikamaru said, "Than just let me out."

Naruto's head snapped to face Shikamaru, his eyes bulging, "Wha… what the hell are you talking about?" he shouted.

Kiba stood up, and Chouji also looked shocked.

Only Shino, whose face was masked, and Neji, had no expressions of surprise or shock.

Jirōbō frowned, "So you're telling us that you're giving up on Sasuke—and that you'll sacrifice your team for your own safety? That's a sick joke," he said, "Someone like you doesn't deserve to be a leader."

"Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted, advancing on him, "What the hell is this bullshi—"

Neji stopped him with a hand, "Hold on." He said, quietly.

Shikamaru stood up, smirking, "Neji, look over there," he said, pointing to where Kiba's holes were still visible.

Neji nodded and activated his byakugan.

"Is it what I thought?" Shikamaru asked.

Neji nodded again, "It looks like it's true."

"Will you just spit it out already I'm tired of waiting for all this bullshit!" Naruto shouted.

Shikamaru stood up. "When he spoke—he spoke from that direction," he pointed at one side of the dome. "But when Kiba made those holes with his drills, they stayed longer on that side," he pointed to the other side of the dome, "Which can only mean that the chakra flow that he's using to encase us in here is less potent on _that_ side."

"Meaning…"

"We can bust out with the right about of strength," Chouji grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Ok, get behind me, guys."

"What is _he_ going to do?" Naruto asked as Neji grabbed him and yanked him over to where everyone else was.

"Something you're not capable of doing." Neji snapped.

"_What_ is your problem, twinkle toes?" Naruto asked, choosing to use Grace's nickname for the long haired boy.

Neji's eye twitched.

"Ok, Chouji!" Shikamaru ordered, "We're all out of the way!"

Naruto gaped as Chouji used his expansion jutsu, it seemed so unreasonably impossible at this close distance, and smashed into the inner wall of the dome, causing it to shatter all around them. The ninja crouched, protecting their heads until there was an opening for the to leap out of.

Jirōbō first reacted with alarm when he felt a strange tremor travel up his arms, and then there was a large _crack_ and _boom_, and the large clay dome began to collapse. He narrowed his eyes as the six ninja landed in front of him.

"HA!" Naruto shouted, "TAKE THAT!"

Neji was about to point out that he didn't actually _do_ anything, but kept his mouth shut. There were more important things to worry about right now than fixing Naruto's brain waves.

"I'm impressed that you were able to free yourself." Jirōbō said, "It looks like you managed to get out. But this doesn't mean that you're safe to go. You still have to go through me first." He glanced at Shikamaru, "What will it be, little man? You're still planning on deserting your men in order to ensure your own safety? What a cowardly freak. I don't know how you became a leader of squad of babies, but then again, I suppose that only makes sense. A foolish gang will always be lead by a foolish leader."

Shikamaru took a deep breath. "Alright," he said, "Guys? We're losing time. At this point, they might be getting closer to the border—and we don't have permission to cross. We've got to get going quickly. Neji? You'll be substitute leader—I'll take on—"

"Shikamaru?" Chouji said, darkly, "This guy—is mine."

"Wha…?" Shikamaru began, startled, turning to Chouji, "What are you talking about, man?"

"This guy," Chouji said, turning up to glare at Jirōbō, "I'm going to take him. You guys go on ahead and rescue Sasuke and Grace. I'll be fine." He reached into his weapon pouch and took out a small pouch. "These are food pills—you guys square them off."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Wha… Wait a minute, Chouji—"

"You're the leader," Chouji interrupted, "The rest of us won't be able to do anything if you're not around to lead us. You guys go on ahead. I'll be fine. Besides—I have that final weapon up my sleeve."

"You mean…" Shikamaru said. "_That?_ Chouji—" he was silenced with a look. "Fine," he said, "But you better catch up to us."

Chouji nodded, grinning. "Aye, captain."

With that, five boys left, leaving Chouji and Jirōbō standing in the clearing.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO o

"Are you sure that we should just leave Chouji like that?" Naruto asked, "I mean, is that a safe idea?"

"What do you mean safe?" Shikamaru asked.

"I mean—out of all of use he's the only one who didn't make it past the preliminary rounds—and when we were in the Academy he didn't exactly get the best of grades."

"Neither did Shikamaru and he was made Chuunin," Kiba pointed out.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, "I'm a Chuunin too?"

Kiba blanched, "Are you serious? I don't believe you!"

"It's true," Neji said, "Neither Naruto nor Sasuke have been promoted yet, but both of them have achieved the 'rank' of Chuunin. I suspect that Naruto will receive his full promotion after this mission."

"That is the biggest bullshit I've ever heard—Shikamaru _and_ Naruto Chuunin before the rest of us?"

"There's nothing to complain about," Shino pointed out, "After all, they worked hard to prove themselves during the exams."

"But that's what I'm talking about!" Kiba snarled, "You, me and Sakura didn't even get a _chance_ to prove ourselves!"

"True," Shino agreed, "But there's nothing we can do about it."

"Like hell there isn't," Kiba muttered.

"We need to kick up the pace!" Shikamaru shouted to them, "We're falling behind them! Kiba, you take the front again, try to sense how fast their moving!"

Kiba nodded and bounded to the front of the group, while Neji automatically slipped to the back, activating his byakugan.

"I can smell them up ahead—we've got a little ways to go, but I think if we increase our speed a little we can catch up in a few minutes!" Kiba shouted.

"I agree," Neji said, "They're not too far."

"Good." Shikamaru said, "We're almost there."

oOoOoOoOoOoOooOoOoOoOoOooOOo 

"They're gaining on us." Kidōmaru said.

"They got Jirōbō?" Tayuya asked, startled.

"Looks like it," Sakon said. "We'll have to pick up our pace."

"We don't have the energy," Tayuya pointed out, "We weren't able to fully recover from our last fight."

Sakon frowned. She was right, of course. The only way to ensure that they got both Sasuke and the girl to Lord Orochimaru in a timely manner would be to separate again. But this time… who would it be? And there was the girl to worry about… he glanced down at her. Her eyebrows began moving a few minutes ago. It would probably be no longer than an hour before she woke up.

They had to get to Lord Orochimaru before then—or at least get rid of these pests before then.

Sakon wasn't the only one who noticed this.

"What are we going to do with her when she wakes up?" Kidōmaru asked.

Sakon raised an eyebrow, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it—although there's not much the wretch can do. She's completely defenseless against us."

"We should just knock her out," Tayuya said, "I personally don't look forward to hearing her bitch and cry all the way back."

"Me either," Sakon said, "But Lord Orochimaru won't be _pleased_ if he hurt a hair on his head," he said, quoting Kabuto's words to them before they had left.

Tayuya rolled her eyes, "She has no purpose except to keep Sasuke happy—why is Lord Orochimaru going through so much effort to get her?"

"He's not the one who's going through all the trouble," Kidōmaru said, "_We_ are."

"_I_ am," Sakon corrected, "Besides, although she was one of the main factors Sasuke agreed to go, that's not the only reason Lord Orochimaru wants her."

"And what would the other reason be?" Tayuya sneered, "I didn't realize Lord Orochimaru swung that way."

Kidōmaru chuckled.

Sakon ignored the immaturity of his two companions and continued to speak "She's useful for when Sasuke's body eventually dies. With her, Orochimaru can have more bodies to inhabit."

Tayuya made a face. "That's gross."

"But then again—I doubt Sasuke will object to his role in the matter," Kidōmaru pointed out.

"You're a fucking pervert," Tayuya muttered.

"Will the two of you shut the fuck up?" Sakon snapped. "She'll wake up if there's too much loud noise—or do you want to deal with that yourself?"

The other two promptly shut up.

"Someone's coming," Kidōmaru said, "Fast."

Sakon and Tayuya prepared for the incomers, but stopped when they saw it was only Jirōbō.

"Looks like you made it by the skin of your teeth, fucking pansy," Tayuya said.

"Yeah," Jirōbō said. "But I beat him anyway."

Tayuya narrowed her eyes.

Jirōbō ducked as a kunai flew over his head. He flipped onto a branch, standing there while staring at the girl. Then he smirked, his form quickly disappearing into the form of Shikamaru. "How'd you know it was me?" he asked.

"Jirōbō doesn't tolerate Tayuya speaking in such a foul manner," Kidōmaru smirked. "That's how we knew."

"It looks like I messed up then," Shikamaru said. "Too bad this part of the plan wasn't important."

"Shit," Kidōmaru said. "Well, Tayuya?"

Tayuya looked at him at the mention of her name, and blinked as Kidōmaru tossed her the coffin. "Wha—"

"You two go ahead," he said, "I kill off these buggers."

"Right," Sakon said, "Let's go, Tayuya."

Tayuya nodded, slowly turning and then jumping off after Sakon.

Kidōmaru turned to look at Shikamaru. "Looks like it's just us, huh? Too bad I won't fall prey to your shadow jutsu again. You're going to go through hell before I finally kill you."

Shikamaru frowned, "You're rather irritating." He said, "When you're the one who is going to die."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOo

"Are you sure those two can handle it?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru nodded. "Neji and Shino are both good at fighting—and their styles will come in handy. Besides, the eight armed guy probably thinks Neji is me—which means he will think that the rest of us are around there as well—when really it's just one. Now all we have to do is make sure that the other two don't know we're onto them and then ambush."

Naruto nodded—but he still didn't like the uneasy feeling. He didn't know whether it was concern for the two or whether it was from Neji's words to him before Neji and Shino left to distract the mutant.

It almost seemed…

"_Make sure you bring Grace back,"_ Neji had ordered him. _"I'm trusting you with that."_

Naruto shook his head. Nah.

"It's just the three of us against two of them—which means the odds are with us," Shikamaru said.

"Four of us," Kiba corrected as Akamaru barked.

"Right, right, sorry, _four_ of us against the two of them—I like those odds even better!" Shikamaru grinned. "It looks like the closer we get to their destination—and the longer it takes—the more desperate they are. You can guarantee that when we catch up and try to ambush—they'll just split off again. Except this time, it'll be harder—because there will only be one of them—and there will be the coffin _and_ Grace to carry."

"But they'll still split," Kiba pointed out, "I mean—they seemed pretty desperate before."

"Yes," Shikamaru said, "Which means we have to decide who gets to split from _us_. He turned to Naruto, "I want you to go on ahead for the final blow," he said, "After all, you're the one who I can trust to change Sasuke's mind—and who can rescue Grace, most likely. Which means it'll have to Kiba or I who will have to split off."

"I'll do it," Kiba said, "I've been itching to fight. Besides, you're the leader—you're the most needed. And Naruto's such an idiot that he won't know left from right without you around."

"Hey!" Naruto protested.

Shikamaru nodded. "Alright then." He said.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"_Shit,_" Tayuya spat, "What was spider boy doing, letting three of them go like that?"

"I don't know—but these little bugs are starting to really piss me off," Sakon said. Besides the fact that Grace started to move in her sleep, the drug almost worn off and now she was kept quiet by actual sleep, didn't make it easy either. He had to be careful how he moved, making sure he didn't wake her up.

This day was quickly turning for the worst.

"I'll kill them," he muttered to Tayuya, "I'll just go right now and destroy them."

"What about the girl?" Tayuya asked.

"You take her."

"I can't take her _and_ the coffin," she pointed out.

"Hoist the coffin over your back and hold the girl," Sakon snapped.

Tayuya bit back a curse while she complied. "Just kill them," she said, as Sakon dumped Grace into her arms. "I'd rather not have to fight as _well_ as have to carry these two shitheads."

Sakon merely licked his lips as he came to a halt.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOo

"How does he look?"

Sakura came to a stop in front of Chouji. "Not good, but it doesn't look fatal." She said, "What about him?"

"He's dead," Tenten said, checking the pulse on the Sound ninja. "Looks like Chouji won—impressive."

"But he still needs some care," Sakura said, crouching, "I think I might be able to do so bandaging with what I have."

"Ok," Tenten said, "Afterwards we should probably try to catch up."

Sakura nodded. She bandaged Chouji quickly, before standing up. "I think that will do it for now. Medical ninja will probably be on their way." She said.

"Right, let's get—"

"What are you two doing out here?"

The two girls stopped and turned around to see Shizune, standing behind them.

"Shizune!" Sakura exclaimed, startled, "What are you doing here?"

"That's what I should be asking you," Shizune said, "I was on a mission—but we were attacked—by these guys." She gestured to Jirōbō. "I'll take care of Chouji."

"Wait—you mean you'll let us go?" Tenten asked, surprised.

Shizune raised an eyebrow, "They'll need all the help they can get—plus I need someone to bring more of the injured back. I've called for a medical team, but who knows when they'll get here."

Sakura nodded. "You'll probably see us later then—if need be."

Shizune nodded, and the two girls quickly leapt into the trees.

"I have to say—I'm not keen on the idea of just helping out with the medical team," Tenten muttered.

"But it's just as important—if it means saving a life," Sakura pointed out, "Besides, what _can_ we do anyway?"

"You're sounding like—" Tenten stopped speaking as she sensed something up ahead. "Sakura, I think we're nearing some more people."

"That's was soon!" Sakura said, "How far away?"

Tenten shook her head, "I don't know—but I can see that many people have traveled down this way. If we keep going we can meet up with them—or find them," she said.

Sakura nodded—hoping no one else was injured.

After a few minutes, they came across a tree that was entirely scorched. Many of the trees were like that around it, and the farther they went, the worse it became. "Looks like there was some sort of battle—but I can't imagine what kind of weapon or jutsu did this," Tenten said.

"Yeah, me either," Sakura said.

They came to a stop in a clearing. "Shino," Sakura said, startled. She hurried over to the boy, attempting to brush some of the bugs off of him before she realized that they were healing some of his wounds.

She spun when she heard a strangled cry. "Tenten—oh!" she exclaimed.

It was Neji.

Sakura's eyes were wide as she took in Neji's appearance. He looked dead—and looked as if he should be dead. She had never seen someone so injured up close before.

"Is he…will he be alright?" Sakura began, not wanting to say the word.

Tenten tore her face away and looked at her, "I… I don't know…" her voice was small and horrified.

Sakura thought Tenten looked as if she were about to cry. She probably is—Neji _is_ her teammate, after all. Tenten sniffed and the stood up, gingerly picking Neji up, "I'm going to take him back—he needs immediate care."

Sakura nodded. "I'll go on ahead. Tell Shizune that Shino's here. I don't think his injuries are serious, though. It seems that his bugs are taking care of most of it."

"Alright," Tenten said, "Good luck."

Sakura nodded and watched as Tenten began walking back. She then turned and continued on. She had to go quickly—from the looks of it, she had a long way to go. She just hoped that everyone else was ok, as well.

She heard them before she saw them.

Creaks—She was about to hide when someone came up suddenly from behind and fell into place. Glancing, she said with a start, "Temari!"

Temari grinned at her, "Looks like you snuck off, eh? Tsunade told me," She said.

Sakura grinned wryly. So the Hokage knew about it, huh? "But what are you doing here?" Sakura asked, "I didn't know you came to the village!"

"Yeah," Temari said, "We were completing a mission that ended in the Leaf Village—and volunteered ourselves as soon as we heard."

"'Ourselves'?" Sakura asked, "You mean…"

"Yeah, we came too," Kankuro said, appearing on her other side.

Sakura glanced over to him, "Is Gaara here too?"

"Yes."

Sakura shivered as she glanced over her shoulder. "So the three of you, huh? That's good. I'm glad I'm not alone now!" she chuckled sheepishly.

Temari smiled, "So, we saw Neji—that looked serious—I just hope the rest of them aren't in such a bad condition."

"Yeah—it'll make our life harder." Kankuro agreed.

"If you have such an uncaring opinion about this mission you shouldn't of volunteered your time," Temari snapped.

"_You_ volunteered our time." Kankuro accused.

"It's good for Leaf and Sand relations," Gaara interjected.

"Speaking of Fire and Wind relations—did you know Grace might marry the Wind Daimyo's son?"

"What?!" Kankuro said, blanching, "That's…"

"She's lucky," Temari said, "The guy's hot."

"I know—I've seen a picture of him," Sakura said, "But on the topic of Grace—we need to make sure she gets back safe."

"I heard that you were the one who saw Sasuke and Grace before they left, what exactly happened?" Temari asked.

"Well," Sakura began, "Sasuke left the village—obviously, and brought Grace with him. Except I don't think Grace knows."

Temari raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, you don't think she knows?" Kankuro asked.

"I mean, I don't think she's aware—she was drugged," Sakura said, "Which was probably the only way Sasuke would be able to get Grace to Orochimaru. Otherwise… she would have resisted. And who knows what would have happened."

"Right," Temari said. "Well, I guessed most of that already."

Sakura nodded. "That's pretty much all I know." She left out the part of Sasuke telling her that Grace's opinions and feelings didn't matter to him. Those weren't things that were needed to be told.

"We're getting to close to them," Kankuro said, "I can sense someone fighting."

"Right." Sakura said, "Should we all go in or—"

"It's just three." Gaara said, suddenly, "I doubt it's all of them. One of us should stay behind and assist them. The others should go ahead."

"Yes," Temari said, "After all, part of mission was to make sure the kid that Gaara beat during the exams is ok."

"Lee?" Sakura blanched, "You're kidding—he _came_? But he was in the hospital—he was getting ready for surgery! What is he doing going out on a mission?"

"That was the Fifth's reaction," Temari said, "Apparently she isn't too pleased—he just got out of surgery, I think."

"Jeez—what's with him?" Sakura muttered, "Why am I always surrounded by idiots?"

An awkward silence ensued.

"Uh…present party excluded," she added, breaking the tension.

"Here's where I say goodbye," Kankuro said, "I'm going to help with this fight—you three go on ahead and assist them."

"Stay safe," Temari called as Kankuro shifted his direction and quickly disappeared. "We should probably steer away from this area—and go in a circle. Gaara's sand will keep us safe from most ambushes, if we stay close to him." Gaara nodded.

"Alright," Sakura said. She still felt uneasy being around the red haired boy—but she assumed that if he had agreed to go on the mission, then he couldn't be a threat.

"The next person—I'll split off," Temari said, "After all, you'd be the best to get Grace, Sakura."

"Right," Sakura nodded.

"Gaara will also go with you, to make sure that you're safe and that the rest of them are safe." Temari added.

Sakura glanced at Gaara. She was a little worried, but Temari wouldn't leave him with her if he wasn't trustworthy. She was just worried about what Grace would do when she saw him. Grace still had some nightmares about it, she remembered.

"There's more fighting up ahead," Gaara noted.

"Jeez—you Leaf Ninja sure know how to make life a pain," Temari muttered. "Can you tell who it is?"

"No." Gaara said.

"It's probably Shikamaru or Kiba," Sakura said, "Since Shino, Neji and Chouji have already been found. I doubt that Naruto would stay behind—like me, he's the best to go after Sasuke and Grace."

Temari smirked, "On the half chance I get to rescue the half assed idiot, I'll go now," she said.

"Be careful!" Sakura called.

Temari waved before hoisting her fan higher and dashing off.

"She sure likes to make fun of Shikamaru a lot, doesn't she?" Sakura asked, grinning at Gaara, until she realized who it was and glanced away sheepishly.

There was some silence as they continued on.

"Are you worried about them?" she asked finally, "Your brother and sister?"

"No."

"Oh…" Sakura said.

"I'm not worried—because I have faith that they won't die." Gaara said.

"Oh," she said again, "I guess… that's a good reason."

She sort of wished that it was Gaara who had left, not Temari. There was such an odd silence between the two ninja.

"Grace," Gaara began, "How is she…"

"What?"

Gaara looked away, "Not including her current predicament, how is she?"

"Oh…" Sakura said, "Well… you mean—from after the Chuunin exams?"

"…Yes," Gaara said.

"Well, she has to walk with a brace—and she always says her foot hurts from…" Sakura trailed off, feeling suddenly guilty at Gaara's face. Perhaps… he's feeling guilty?

Part of her wanted to think that he _should_ feel guilty, while the other part said that he's changed.

She shook her head. There was no time to think about that now. What she needed to do is focus on the battle up ahead.

"There's someone heading in the same direction as us," Gaara said.

"An enemy?" Sakura asked.

Gaara paused. "They don't seem to be a threat." He said, "Nor have they noticed us."

"Good." Sakura said. With any luck it'll be Lee. "I think we're getting close, I can hear Naruto's voice."

Gaara nodded.

For once, Sakura was glad that Naruto had such a loud and obnoxious voice.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOo

Kimimaro quickly moved through the trees. He held the coffin, and on it laid the girl.

Kimimaro glanced at the girl lying on the coffin. So this is the girl who will make Lord Orochimaru's plans come true.

And the boy within… that's Lord Orochimaru's new vessel.

He frowned as the girl stirred. If he wasn't careful, she'd fall—if she woke. He slowed and stopped, in a large field. Placing the coffin on the ground, he lifted the girl and placed her on the ground. Her eyes moved under her eyelids. Her eyelids fluttered for a moment before she opened them clearly. She blinked for a few minutes, moving sluggishly into a sitting position.

She slowly turned her head to face him, still blinking sleepily as she gained consciousness of her surroundings.

Her eyes widened in fear and surprise as she saw him—and he knew that she recognized him from something.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOo

I could barely feel myself lifted, strong arms carrying me, before I was placed on something hard—the ground. It prickled me, so I suppose it's on dry grass of some sort.

I fought to open my eyes. Everything seemed foggy—my brain wasn't thinking straight. Where am I? What happened? I opened my eyes a little, and saw nothing but long strands of grass. I need to sit up. I managed to push myself to a sitting position, looking around. I was right; I was in a strange field. It was empty, it seemed like… except for…

I looked over to see a strange looking white haired boy. A very _distinctive_ looking white haired boy.

After a moment, everything came flooding back.

I let out a small scream as I leapt to my feet, falling backwards. My legs felt like they were asleep. I crawled backwards away from him.

"You're body is still recovering from being drugged," the boy said, "Don't overexert yourself."

I was breathing heavily, and found that words came difficultly, so I just swallowed and looked around wildly until I saw the coffin.

_No…_ I thought, my heart racing and my stomach plummeting, _It couldn't be…_

"I need you to cooperate," the boy said, "We're running out of time—we need to get Sasuke to Lord Orochimaru soon."

I shook my head—"No!" I said, "I won't! Let Sasuke out of that!" I shouted, pointing at it.

"He'll be out soon," the boy said, "And then he will be able to take you. For now, I need..." he stopped as I stood up, rushing over to the coffin.

"Sasuke!" I cried, pounding on the wall of the coffin, "Sasuke wake up!"

"Don't," the white haired boy began.

I was pounding on the wall of the coffin so hard that I felt a burn on my fists where the skin was scraping off. I knew I would bleed soon, but I didn't stop.

When I did, it was only because I felt something shudder inside.

"Sasuke?" I said, hopeful. The tears that threatened moments ago returned. "Sasuke—can you hear me?" I clawed at the top, but it wouldn't budge.

"You're only hurting yourself," the white haired boy said, "This coffin has a seal on it, it won't release until Sasuke is ready to come out."

There was movement inside.

"GRACE!"

My head whipped around to see Naruto appearing a few meters away. "Naruto!" I cried.

"Grace are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm…" I began. I _was not _alright! I wanted to say. "I'm ok," I said, "I can't get Sasuke out of here!"

"Don't worry!" Naruto shouted, "I'll get you and Sasuke safely out of—"

A strange smell began to rise from the coffin—it smelt of fire. The top began to leak a dark smoke.

"What…" I said.

The white haired boy appeared next to me, grabbing me and pulling me out of the way.

The moment he did, there was a loud explosion.

I gave out a terrified shriek as the coffin blew into a thousand pieces.

"Sasuke!" I yelled as I saw his form standing in the midst. My voice caught in my throat. There wasn't something wrong—that thing wasn't Sasuke.

It didn't even look like him.

I saw whatever it was recede until what was left was Sasuke himself. "Sasuke…" I murmured. The tears were back.

Sasuke merely stood there. I don't think he heard me.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted happily, "Come on! What are you doing with these guys? Let's go back now!"

A low chuckle could be heard from Sasuke. My eyes widened. That wasn't Sasuke's voice. That couldn't be Sasuke's voice. That voice was evil—it was…

I felt my heart skip as Sasuke disappeared, and reappeared next to me. Within seconds, he was holding me and moving quickly across the field, towards the trees.

"GRACE!" I heard Naruto yell, before we disappeared into the woods.

I clutched at Sasuke as we moved. I felt like I was going to fall out of his arms and plummet below. Did I ever mention I don't like heights? Sasuke's arms tightened on me, holding me close.

He didn't speak. He didn't look at me. He merely looked on ahead. He looked determined.

"Sasuke!" I said, taking his face in my hands and attempting to force him to look at me, "Sasuke stop this!"

He didn't respond.

"Sasuke…" I whimpered.

"Grace!" I heard a yell from a ways away.

"Naruto!" I cried, leaning back so I could see back Sasuke's arm. "Naruto, I'm here!"

I heard a low growl come from Sasuke's throat, and he picked up the pace, holding me so tight that I let out a gasp.

"Wait—Sasuke—Don't…" I looked behind to see Naruto gaining on us. _Please, please Naruto!_ I thought, desperately, _Please catch up to us!_

I felt the sun on my face and turned to see where we were going. There was a loud continuous noise ahead. It sounded like… a waterfall?

Are we that close?!

"NARUTO!" I screamed, trying to dislocate my arms from Sasuke and reach for the blond boy behind us.

Sasuke uttered a curse and turned in mid-air, balancing me awkwardly as he performed a hand seal, before blowing out a large bout of fire at Naruto, causing the boy to yelp and fall back. The trees engulfed in a large yellow rage as the crackled.

Sasuke's grip once again tightened, and he continued towards the waterfall.

"_Stop!_" I yelled, resorting to hitting his chest, since I couldn't get my forearms high enough to hit his head.

We broke free of the trees and he dashed over the large open space between the two cliffs, landing safely on the other side. For a moment, he just stood there, holding me, before moving me so my feet touched the ground. If he had let go, I knew I would have sank to my knees, but he held onto my waist and kept me from falling.

"Why?" I asked him, "Why are you doing this?"

"He would have followed if I didn't," Sasuke said, shortly.

"I don't just mean that!" I exclaimed, gaining the strength in my legs and stepping away from him, pushing his hands off me, "I mean—why are you going!?"

"I told you," Sasuke said, "You can't stop me."

"But why are you taking me with you?" I asked him, quieter this time.

He gave a pitiful look, and I suddenly remembered last nights events.

"Sasuke," I said, "I understand how you feel about me—but that's no reason to act this way! I mean…" I trailed off, trying to find the right words to say. "I just… Why can't you just stay in the village?" I begged, "Why do you have to leave?"

"I can't get what I need in the village." He said.

"But you have _me_," I said, "If you take me to that—that _monster's_ place you'll lose that! Do you have any idea how much I—" my words were cut off by my throat clenching. I was going to cry—I knew it. If I spoke anything more, the tears threatening would come out again. I didn't want Sasuke to see me cry.

"_Please_," I whispered. "I don't want to go there! I—I'm scared, Sasuke! I'm scared of what you're becoming! Of what you will become!"

Sasuke didn't say anything, only look at me with that emotionless face.

"I… you never let me say what I wanted to say before," I said, "Last night, _you_ said what you felt towards me, but you didn't let me tell you how I feel!" I said, "Sasuke," I took a deep breath. "I love you too, and I've always loved you—I was just too stupid to realize it—and I always misinterpreted it as the wrong kind of love—but now I know!"

Sasuke didn't seem to react. He was still staring at me, although now his expression seemed somewhat strange—as if he were having a hard time understanding what I was saying.

"I just…" I said, "I know that last night I said I loved you only in a big sister sort of way—but that was just a lie! I was… I guess I was just afraid of what—I mean, I know it's weird, because I'm older—but that was just because—you know, well, when someone who's older and—"

I wasn't able to finish my sentence. My sentence was suddenly cut off when Sasuke moved towards me in a blink of an eye, his face coming so close that I had to close my eyes from going cross-eyed, and he pulled me into a kiss.

For a moment, I tried to keep talking, but soon I gave up and melted into him. He placed his hands on my hips, drawing me closer, and I moved my hands to his shoulders.

When we broke apart, I blinked stupidly at him.

"HOLY SHIT."

I blanched at the loud noise, and glanced over Sasuke's shoulder to see Naruto on the other side, staring at us with an open mouth.

"N—Naruto!" I yelped, leaping away from Sasuke. "This isn't—well, it is, but…"

Sasuke turned around and glared at the blond boy. "It looks like the fire didn't keep you as occupied as I thought," he said, loudly so that Naruto could hear.

Naruto frowned, and leapt up into the air to land a few meters away from him. "Sasuke," he said, "I don't know what's gotten into you—but I'm going to defeat you and get you and Grace back to the village."

Sasuke have a large bark of laughter, grabbing me by the arm and drawing me closer, before pushing me behind him. "You really think you can do that? With this new power? I've had enough of you," he snarled, his amusement gone, suddenly.

"Wait—" I said, stepping away from him, "You should think this through…"

"Get back here!" Sasuke snarled.

"No!" I said, "I told you—I don't want to leave! I want to stay in the village with Sakura, and Naruto—"

"_With Naruto?_" Sasuke said, finally loosing it.

I took a step backwards, closer to Naruto, "Yes…" I said, fear gripping me, but at the same time, I felt anger at the threatening tone in his voice, "Naruto cares about how _I_ feel!" I shouted, "Why _wouldn't_ I want to be with him!"

Sasuke's head whipped down to face the ground, his shoulder's twitching. "I…" he began, "I was going to let you come to the realization yourself that you should come with me… but now…" he looked up, and my eyes widened as I saw red marks of the curse seal growing. "Now I'm just going to take you whether you want it or not!"

"Hold on!" Naruto said, stepping in front of me, "This is stupid, Sasuke! Why are you talking like this—"

"Get away from her!" Sasuke shouted, his curse activating as he charged Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened at the strange form and he grabbed me, pushing me out of the way in time to block Sasuke's attack.

I let out a scream as I stumbled and fell flat on my face, quickly turning and looking as Naruto and Sasuke began battling.

This… This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

"Sasuke! Naruto!" I yelled, getting up and running as fast as my brace would allow. I had to catch up to them, and quickly. I yelped as I tripped and landed on my face again. Damn it! Why am I so clumsy?

They were a ways off now, neither wanting to get me caught in the cross fire. But I had to get to them. I had to stop them somehow. They wouldn't fight with me too close—it'll be too dangerous—I might get caught or thrown off the cliff—or I might be injured somehow by one of their weapons or jutsu. I knew the dangers of interrupting an intense fight, but I had to go anyway.

I had to stop them before it was too late.

I stood up and began running again. My foot began to ache something terrible and every step made blood pound in my ears. I wish I had taken Ebisu's training seriously—at least then it would be easier to cover this distance. Ninjas move so fast it's not fair when a normal person is trying to catch up.

"You guys!" I yelled, "Will you two stop it—I'm getting pissed off!"

The two obviously couldn't hear me, and were too obsessed with their fight to notice me approaching.

There was a large blast of hot air that lifted me off my feet and slammed me on my back. Rubble shot blew past me and I covered my head protectively, trying to keep the dust out of my eyes and mouth. I coughed, rubbing at my eyes, and when I was able to see and breath clearly, I glanced up. There was a large red haze where Naruto and Sasuke were fighting.

Don't tell me—Naruto was using the Fox's powers?

Damn… I stood up and continued running towards them. It was taking too much time; I couldn't waste any of it! The longer I take to get to them the more likely that one of them might—I couldn't think of that. I had to stop them.

"You guys!" I shouted as I neared, but neither noticed.

I saw lightning gather in Sasuke's hand. The Chidori. He charged at Naruto, who had activated his Rasengan. I managed to throw myself onto the ground in time as the ground shuddered at the impact. I grabbed at a plant to be kept from moving, holding time until the wind stopped.

Why was it so hard to get their attention? Both of them, now that I could see them clearly, seemed entirely emerged in their fight. They didn't even seem to notice that I was this close.

I stood up for the uncountable time and began to run, my legs feeling like they were being ripped. I could feel the brace on my foot becoming loose. Soon it'll come undone and then I'd be in trouble. I knew I should stop and fix it—but I was too desperate to get to them to care about my own pain.

I heard the chitter of the Chidori. Sasuke must be—

I was blinded by a flash of blue light, not even able to scream as pain shot through my body for a split second. I felt wind ripping at my clothes, and saw the cliff and sky drawing away from me at an alarming rate.

I was falling.

I closed my eyes.

This is it. I'm going to die.

"Grace!"

I opened my eyes to see a hand reaching for me, a hand that belonged to Sasuke. He was falling too, reaching for me. "Grab my hand!" he shouted, stretching it out towards me. He looked panicked, the fear growing in his eyes. I could see him leaning closer.

I reached for it, our fingertips touching.

A look of relief washed over his face. He hooked his index finger with mine, using it to draw me a little closer. I couldn't breathe, but if I did, I would have sighed a sigh of relief and cried. He had me.

My heart didn't even have time to skip a beat as, with a snap, our fingers separated. Sasuke's face filled with horror as he desperately attempted to move closer. His eyes grew in horror as he—

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOo

It was the worse sound he had ever heard.

It caused every cell in his body to scream.

He landed on the rock bank, breathing hard, ragged breaths.

He didn't hear Naruto's yells.

He didn't hear the raging water around him.

He didn't hear anything.

He didn't see anything.

Anything, except _her._

He sank to his knees, feeling like he had been the one crushed. His breathing hitched, his body trembling as he grasped her mangled form, drawing her close to him.

Holding her close to him, his eyes unable to focus on anything but blank space, he felt his world collapse, as he felt her heart slow to a deafening halt.

THE END

Check out my profile for the sequel to Truthspeaker, _Bunaíodh de Luíonn_


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